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PURITANS ON THE WAY TO CHURCH 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


Stories of the First Settlers and How Our 
Country Grew 


BY 


MARY HAZELTON WADE 


AUTHOR OF “ TEN LITTLE INDIANS,” “ TEN BIG INDIANS,” “ UNCLE 
SAM’s old-time stories,” “ THE LITTLE COUSIN 
SERIES,” ETC. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

SEARS GALLAGHER 



W. A. WILDE COMPANY 


BOSTON 


CHICAGO 


LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
TwoCooJes Received 

AUG 28 1906 

tnlry 

CLASSt^ CL. XXc. Ne. 
COPY B. 



Copyright, 1906, 

By W. a. Wilde Company, 

All rights reserved. 


Old Colony Days. 


- U6?5' 


PREFACE 


This little book is the second volume in the series 
of “ Uncle Sam’s Old-time Stories.” The first vol- 
ume, “ The Coming of the White Men,” dealt with 
discoveries and early settlements; this takes up the 
story where that left off and brings the history of 
our country about to the time of the Revolution. 

The brave men and women who were willing to 
face unknown dangers when they sought a free 
home in the American wilderness, found these dan- 
gers very real and often terrible. 

At every turn there were foes to contend with, 
cold, hunger and sickness; the lurking savages who 
looked upon them with jealous eyes; the longing 
to see the familiar faces of the dear ones they had 
left behind and the loved scenes of their childhood. 

All these and more must be striven with and over- 
come, else this country had not become what it is 
to-day, — the refuge of millions of suffering souls 
from all parts of the world. 

The struggling pioneers did their work so bravely 
and so well that they are now and ever will be an 
inspiration to better, truer, and purer lives to all 
who listen to the story of their struggles and their 
victories. 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Old Times in New England ii 

II. King Philip’s War 23 

III. The Happy Dutch People 44 

IV. The Tyrant and the Brave Man 61 

V. Bacon and the Indians 69 

VI. The Land of Flowers 76 

VIL The Cruel Spaniards . . . ' 88 

VIII. New France loi 

IX. The French and the Indians 118 

X. King William’s War 123 

XI. The Boy Who Could Not Lie 133 

XII. Join or Die 149 

XIII. The Story of Wolfe 158 

XIV. Pontiac, the Great War Chief 170 




ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Puritans on the way to church . . . Frontispiece i8 

A FIRE-PLACE IN A DUTCH SETTLER’s HOME ^ 

De Soto landing in Florida 78 ^ 

Isaac Bradley surprised by the Indians 127 X 

The English climbing up to attack Quebec .... 165 



OLD COLONY DAYS 

CHAPTER I 


OLD TIMES IN NEW ENGLAND 

U NCLE SAM! Uncle Sam! Oh, you dear, 
dear Uncle ! We have missed you so much,” 
said Joe, running into the little cottage quite out 
of breath from haste and excitement. Lucy was 
close behind her brother. 

They had just heard the good news that Uncle 
Sam had returned from his journey, and both chil- 
dren were eager to be the first ones to greet their 
dear old friend. 

You couldn’t have missed me as much as I 
missed you,” declared Uncle Sam, after he had 
kissed the children again and again. “ Joe, dear, 
how you have grown during the last few months! 
As for you, Lucy, you are a butter-ball ; you must 
be at least ten pounds heavier than when I saw you 
last.” 

“ Are you glad to be home again. Uncle Sam ? ” 

II 


12 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


“ Glad ! I should say I am, Lucy ! I couldn’t 
have got along another day without seeing this lit- 
tle home and you precious children. But I’ve had a 
fine time, too. I’ve seen a good deal of our glori- 
ous country, and I’m prouder than ever of being 
an American.” 

Uncle Sam stroked his chin, just as he always 
did when thinking deeply, and his kind eyes took 
on a sober look. 

“ We are just starving for some of your stories,” 
declared Joe. “ Mother is so busy that she never 
has time to tell us anything. As for father, he 
always wants to read his paper after he gets home. 
So you see we are actually suffering for your com- 
pany and the good stories you can tell us.” 

‘‘ I’m glad to hear it. I’m sure. Of course I am 
not glad to have you hungry. Hunger is some- 
times a dreadful thing. But I am pleased that you 
want the kind of food I can give you. Roast beef 
and bread and butter are good things for the body, 
but the mind needs to be fed, too.” 

“ Yes, and your history stories are just the thing,” 
said Joe. 

“When will you feel rested enough to begin?” 
anxiously asked Lucy. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


13 


‘‘ This very afternoon. I’m not tired now, my 
dear, but of course I must look around the place a 
little first and get used to being home. If you and 
Joe will come over at four o’clock. I’ll be all ready 
for a good old-fashioned talk.” 

At the time set the twins were back in their old 
friend’s little sitting-room. It was a dark, dull No- 
vember afternoon. It was far pleasanter to watch 
the burning logs in the fireplace and listen to Uncle 
Sam’s cheerful voice than to play outdoors in the 
raw, chilly air. 

You know I’ve been visiting my relations in the 
different parts of New England for the past month,” 
Uncle Sam began. “ As I went from one busy 
town to another and saw the blocks of stores, the 
pretty churches, and the pleasant homes ; as I heard 
the rumbling of the machinery in the mills and fac- 
tories, I couldn’t help thinking of the old days 
when most of the country was still covered with 
forests. 

In that early time, the trees were cut down here 
and there and little villages were built in the cleared 
spaces. In many of these clearings there were no 
more than a dozen houses, with perhaps two or 
three barns and a tiny church, or “ meeting-house,” 


14 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


as they called it. The people of one village might 
be many miles away from any other settlers. 

On winter evenings when the snow was piled 
up in big drifts around their homes, and they heard 
the wolves howling under the windows, they must 
often have felt lonely and longed for the comforts 
of Old England. Such snowstorms and bitter cold 
they had never before known. 

“ At first, the settlers made their homes along 
the shores of the ocean, but by-and-by they took 
little journeys into the country. They found many 
rivers where salmon, shad, and other fish were plen- 
tiful. They noticed that there were great num- 
bers of deer and wild turkeys in the forests. 

“ So it came about that a few daring men said : 
‘ We will move farther inland with our families. 
We will choose a pleasant spot beside a stream of 
fresh water. There we will cut down the trees, 
build log houses and plant gardens. We are not 
afraid of harm coming to us.’ 

“ You can imagine how the little children of 
those settlers spent their days. The boys helped 
their fathers cut down the trees and saw the logs 
for their rough homes ; they fished in the rivers and 
hunted through the woods for turkeys, deer and 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


15 


pigeons. The girls knit and spun, or tended the 
babies for their busy mothers; they picked berries 
and brought water from the spring, or watched the 
meat and bread cooking in the big fireplace. 

‘‘Of course the poor dears had some time to 
play with their dolls. Such homely dolls, too, — 
carved out of wood by some kind-hearted big broth- 
er, or perhaps made of cloth and stuffed with wool 
by their mothers during a few spare minutes. 

“ Sometimes baby rabbits or squirrels were 
brought home by the hunters. Then there would 
be a cry from the little ones : ‘ Don’t kill the pretty 
creature, papa. Please let us have it for a pet.’ 

“ Perhaps the father’s stern face became tender 
as he thought of the children’s hard life, and he 
said : ‘ Very well, make a little house for your 

pet and take good care of it. Don’t let your mother 
be bothered, for she has enough already to keep 
her busy.’ 

“ Every morning and evening there were prayers, 
even on the busiest days. The children and their 
parents must never rise in the morning nor go to 
sleep at night without thanking God for his love 
and care of them in this strange, wild country of 
New England. 


i6 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


The Sabbath was a day of quiet. It began at 
sunset of Saturday. No work was done that was 
not actually needful. Of course the cattle and 
chickens must be fed; the people themselves must 
eat, too, although little cooking was done. The 
dinner was often cooked the day before and eaten 
cold. 

Even the children must be quiet on Sunday ; no 
noise, no laughing, hardly a smile was allowed 
on that day. There were long sermons, many 
hymns and prayers in the little meeting-house, 
which was not heated even on the coldest winter 
day. 

When the sun set on Sunday, it was the time to 
make ready for another six days of work. What 
might happen before another Sabbath ! Who could 
say?” 

‘‘ I don’t understand how anything could happen 
in those quiet little villages,” remarked Joe, as Un- 
cle Sam stopped to rest. ‘‘ Of course I should have 
liked the hunting and fishing, but there would be 
nothing exciting so far as I can see.” 

You forget, Joe, that the settlers were few in 
number and that they were surrounded by savages. 
The Indians were friendly at first. The good Mas- 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


17 


sasoit, who welcomed the Pilgrims, had set a good 
example for the others. They came to the homes 
of the white men, bringing furs and game which 
they were glad to sell if they could get beads, 
hatchets and blankets in return. 

As years went by, however, the red men began 
to complain among themselves. They said : ‘ These 
white men are making their homes in the very placea 
where we have been free to hunt the' deer and the 
moose and to trap the turkey. They are cutting 
down our forests ; the wild animals- are fleeing in 
terror; more and more of these white strangers 
are coming to our shores every year. What will 
become of our free and happy hunting grounds? 
This is our land and they have no right to take 
away what belongs to us.’ Then the Indians 
scowled and muttered to themselves in low tones. 

“ They were still more angry and unfriendly as 
the years passed by, for many of the Puritan settlers 
were stern in their v/ays and speech. They looked 
upon the red men as savages; they spoke harshly 
to them, and did not think it was worth while to 
make friends with them. 

‘‘ ‘ How different they are from the white men 
to the west of us,’ thought many of the Indians. 


i8 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


‘ The Dutchmen are kind and pleasant. When they 
trade with us they are friendly, and honest, too. 
We do not like these Puritans.’ 

‘‘ The red men were thinking of the Dutch settlers 
in New York, who managed to keep peace with the 
Indians for a long time after they came to America. 

‘‘ So it came about that the settlers throughout 
New England were in danger from their red neigh- 
bors. They never knew when they might be taken 
by surprise. Their cattle might be killed, or some 
cruel deed done to the women and children at any 
moment ; they must be on their guard all the time. 

‘‘ Most of the villages away from the seashore 
had train-bands; that is, bands of men who were 
trained to be ready for fighting at a moment’s no- 
tice. Many of the houses were built so as to be 
used as forts. High walls of stakes were set up 
around the little homesteads, for skulking red men 
might take the people by surprise at any moment. 

On Sundays the men carried their muskets 
when they went to meeting. During the long ser- 
mon they sat straight and still, listening to the 
words of the minister. Yet all the time they held 
their muskets in their laps. Then if a sudden war- 
whoop sounded outside the windows, they would 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


19 


be ready to shoot, and defend their frightened wives 
and little ones.” 

As Uncle Sam spoke of the Indians, Joe and 
Lucy looked up with scared eyes at his kind face. 

“ Nothing to fear now, my dears. Oh, no ! those 
days are long gone by. You may well be glad of 
it, too. I don’t believe you would have enjoyed the 
ways of the Indians. They didn’t go about like 
white men, — ■ a whole company marching along 
boldly. They traveled so quietly in their soft moc- 
casins, they crept through the forests and along the 
by-paths with so little noise, that they were con- 
tinually taking the white people by surprise.” 

“ Ugh ! I can imagine the children in one of those 
lonely villages,” said Lucy, half to herself. ‘‘ They 
never knew when it was safe to enjoy themselves. 
Perhaps those ugly Indians would appear in the 
very midst of a game of hide-and-seek. They 
would run home as fast as they could, and there 
would be no more hide-and-seek that day.” 

'' Or perhaps on a cold, stormy night in winter,” 
Uncle Sam went on, “ the children would be pop- 
ping corn in the big fireplace. There would be a 
knock at the door. Away the small boys and girls 
would scamper, — one into a closet, another under 


20 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


the bed, and a third into the darkest corner of the 
cellar. The corn was quite forgotten and left to 
pop itself all over the room if it liked. 

‘‘ The father would seize his musket and slowly 
unbar the door. He would open it just wide enough 
to see whether a friend was waiting outside or one 
of those dreaded Indians. 

‘‘ After a while the Pequot Indians, who lived 
near the ' Long River,’ as they called the Connecti - 
cut, rose openly against the settlers. ‘ The white 
men are not our friends,’ they said to each 

other. ^ They have taken our land from us ; they 

have cut down our forests. We do not mind the 

Dutch people; they come among us only to trade. 

But the English have come to live among us, and 
we hate their cold, proud ways.’ 

‘‘ Not long after this, they killed two white men. 

Dreadful ! Dreadful ! ’ declared the settlers. 
‘ Those fierce Pequots make the country unsafe for 
us to live in ; soldiers must be sent against them.’ 

‘‘ And soldiers did go very soon. They killed 
many of the Pequots, they burned down their wig- 
wams, and they left a number to starve. 

‘‘ In the midst of this sad state of things, there 
was one kind-hearted man who did all he could to 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


21 


stop the trouble; it was the good minister, Roger 
Williams, whose story I told you last summer/^ 

“ Oh, yes, he was the one who settled Provi- 
dence,^’ said Joe. The Indians liked him, for he 
wasn’t stiff and proud in his ways.” 

“To be sure,” Uncle Sam went on. He was 
loving toward all men; he went among the fierce 
Pequots at the risk of his life; he did all he could 
to take away their anger toward the settlers. He 
also visited another tribe of Indians who were very 
powerful ; he talked to them with so much sense that 
they said : ‘ We will not join with the Pequots 
against the English; we will remain quiet.’ 

“ It was well for the white settlers that they did. 
Otherwise the war would have been a terrible one 
indeed. As it was, it did not last long. The Pe- 
quots were soon overcome; many of them lost their 
lives, while their brave chief was driven from his 
home and soon afterward killed by unfriendly In- 
dians. 

After this there was peace for many years. 
The white people lost much of their fear of the red 
men. They did not dream of the troubles yet to 

ff 


come. 


22 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


‘‘ What were they? Do tell us, Uncle Sam,” said 
Joe eagerly. 

“ That is another story, so you shall have it an- 
other day,” was the smiling answer. “ I believe I 
am more tired from my journey than I at first 
thought; I shall have to rest now.” 

“ Mother said you must be sure to come back with 
us to supper; she will have hot biscuits and other 
nice things. You’ll come, won’t you?” begged 
Lucy. 

'' Certainly, my dear. It will be a rest to see 
your good father and mother once more, and eat 
one of the nice suppers your mother always pre- 
pares.” 

Uncle Sam got up out of his arm-chair and was 
soon on his way to the home of his old friends. 


CHAPTER II 


KING Philip’s war 

^ ^TT^ING PHILIP was an Indian who lived in 
AX. a wigwam, and was sometimes obliged 
to go to bed hungry.” 

A funny kind of a king,” remarked Joe. He 
and Lucy had stopped at the little cottage on their 
way home from school. Uncle Sam had finished 
his day’s work early, so he had invited the children 
to stay for a while, unless their mother would 
worry at their absence. “If you can stay, I will 
tell you that other story of which I spoke the last 
time you were here.” 

“ Good ! good ! ” exclaimed the children, and Lucy 
added : “We told mother we were coming here, 
so she 'said we might stay till half-past five if you 
were willing.” 

Then Uncle Sam began to tell the story of King 
Philip. 

“ Yes, it does seem funny to speak of him as a 
king. Yet that is what he was called, and he felt 

23 


24 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


every inch as proud as any king in the v^orld. 
When he was dressed in his royal robes, he wore a 
coat made of polished shell beads. It was worth as 
much to him as many thousands of dollars are to a 
white man. 

“ The Indians called such beads wampum. They 
took pieces of the pearly lining of shells and cut and 
polished them with rude tools. They bored holes 
in them and strung them together. Wampum was 
the most precious thing an Indian could own. 

“ When Philip was dressed in his coat of wam- 
pum, with one belt of wampum about his head and 
still another around his waist, he felt very grand 
indeed. Besides these things, the red-skinned chief 
owned a large blanket. He certainly had every- 
thing an Indian’s heart could wish. 

“ Philip was once a little boy who played happily 
with his older brother, Alexander. In those days 
he wasn’t called Philip ; he had a long Indian name 
which I am afraid you will forget. It was Pome- 
tacom, sometimes called Metacomet. 

“ His father was the good chief Massasoit, who 
was a kind friend to the white men as long as he 
lived. After he had died and his sons grew up, 
they did not have the same kindly feelings for the 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


25 


white people that he had shown. They were bitter 
against the settlers. They said : ‘We have sold 
our lands too cheaply. See how much the white 
men have done with them.' 

“ Then, too, they were angry because some of the 
Indians had become Christians through the teach- 
ings of the white men. They called them the ‘ Pray- 
ing Indians,' and looked down upon them. At the 
same time, they disliked the settlers who had taught 
the Praying Indians to give up the beliefs of the 
red men. 

“ A very good man named John Eliot had done 
most of this work. He was a kindly, gentle man, 
and he loved God with all his heart. He thought: 
‘ I would gladly give my life to make these poor 
savages better and get them to live like the white 
people.' 

“ He went from one Indian village to another, 
teaching the people about God, and Jesus, the loving 
Friend of all. The red men came out of their wig- 
wams to listen. Some of them said : ‘ It must be 
good to be a Christian if it makes a person like 
John Eliot.' 

“ These Indians left their homes and gave them- 
selves up to the teachings of the gentle minister; 


26 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


they gathered together and made villages ; they tried 
to follow the ways of the white men; they did not 
care any longer for the charms of the medicine men 
of their tribe. 

John Eliot did not stop here. He tried to teach 
the Praying Indians to read ; he wrote out the Bible 
in the words of the Indian language. Sometimes 
he found it hard to pick out Indian words that meant 
the same as the Bible words, but at last he finished 
his work. 

Then the book must be printed. And it was 
printed, too, — one of the first books made in what 
is now the United States. You can hardly imagine 
how much time and patience John Eliot spent before 
his work was finished. 

'' Now let us come back to Philip and his brother 
Alexander, who looked with scorn upon the Pray- 
ing Indians. 

After Massasoit died, Alexander became chief 
in his father’s place. 

“ ' We do not like the behavior of that chief,’ the 
settlers said among themselves. 

He is rousing another tribe besides his own 
against us,’ declared some of those who had been 
watching him closely. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


27 


‘‘ ‘ We must send for him/ said the leading white 
men. ‘ He shall come to Plymouth and answer the 
charges made against him.’ 

“ A company of soldiers was sent at once to the 
proud chief. He saw it was best for him to go 
with them peaceably, but a storm was raging in 
his heart as he thought of the disgrace of his 
arrest. 

“ He taken to Plymouth as a prisoner ! He, 
Alexander, King of the Wampanoags ! It was too 
much to bear. The thought made him so ill that 
while he was on the way to Plymouth he was seized 
with a fever. The white men did alt they could for 
him, but he did not get better. 

‘ Let us take him home,’ begged his followers. 

“ They made a litter and placed the sick man 
upon it ; then with sad hearts they started for Mount 
Hope. But poor Alexander did not live to see his 
home. 

‘ The wicked white men gave him poison. They 
have killed our chief ! ’ wailed his friends, and the 
settlers could not make the red men believe any- 
thing different. 

'' Philip became chief in his brother’s place. His 


28 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


heart was now very bitter toward the white peo- 
ple. 

“ ‘ If I could only drive them from the country ! ’ 
he thought. 

He heard his followers grumbling on all sides. 
Perhaps one of them would speak of the fire-water 
which the white men sold to the Indians. ' Kill- 
devil ’ was another name the Indians gave it. 

“ ' When we drink it, it takes away our minds,’ 
Philip would declare. ‘ Then it is an easy thing 
to cheat us and make us sell our lands and furs for 
almost nothing.’ 

“ Another warrior would mutter : ‘ The cattle of 
these white men eat the corn that our squaws have 
planted. If we complain, they only answer : ^ Why 
don’t you build a fence around the corn ? Ugh ! 
Warriors have other work than building fences.’ 

A third would speak in low tones, whispering 
to a friend : ‘ Why doesn’t our chief drive the pale- 
faces from our shores before they grow any 
stronger ? ’ 

“ All these words reached Philip’s ears sooner or 
later. He, too, had wrongs, and he scowled as he 
thought of his brother’s death. His people must 
not think him a coward, without a right to the title 

I 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


29 


of chief. Oh, no ! Philip was proud. He was also 
wise and brave above most Indians. 

“ He cut up his precious coat of wampum and 
divided it into belts which he sent by messengers to 
other tribes near by. What did the tribes think of 
the white men? Did it seem a wise thing to drive 
them from the country ? What else could be done ? 
These were some of the questions the messengers 
were to ask as they gave the belts of wampum. 

‘‘ Philip also told his warriors to sharpen their 
knives and hatchets. He gathered together all the 
gtins his people had bought from the white men. 
The settlers learned what he had done, and sent for 
him to come and explain. 

Philip did not wish them to know how he felt, 
because he was really not ready to begin war. Be- 
sides, his medicine men had said ; ‘ Whoever sheds 
the first blood will be beaten.’ Philip did not wish, 
therefore, that an Indian should begin the war. 

Soon after he received the message from the 
white men, he set out with about eighty of his fol- 
lowers to meet them. When he came among them 
he acted as if he felt quite pleasant toward the set- 
tlers. He promised to do as they asked; he gave 
up his gun and ordered the warriors with him to do 


30 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


the same; he even promised that when he reached 
home he would send back to the white men all the 
other guns held by the Indians/' 

“ Did he do it, Uncle Sam? ” cried Joe in excite- 
ment. 

Indeed not ! ” was the answer. He knew too 
well that the only hope of the Indians lay in their 
guns. How much would bows and arrows gain for 
them against the firearms of the enemy? Little, 
indeed. 

As soon as Philip was once more safe among 
his own people, he spent more time than ever in 
making plans against the English. He thought : 
Hf I can get all the tribes around me to join to- 
gether, we can drive our hated foes from the land.’ 

“ There was a certain Indian named Sassamon, 
who had lived with the kind preacher, John Eliot. 
He had learned how to read and write, and had 
grown very fond of the white men. 

“ It happened that King Philip needed someone 
to write letters for him. He chose Sassamon; he 
did not doubt that he would be true to his own 
people. 

“ Sassamon, however, betrayed his master ; he 
went to the settlers and told them all of Philip’s 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


31 


plans. The Indians discovered what had been 
done. Not long afterward Sassamon’s dead body 
was found under the ice in a pond. 

Another Indian who was also a friend of the 
white men went to them and said : ‘ Sassamon was 
killed because he told you of King Philip’s plans. 
I know the very one who did it.’ 

“ The settlers said at once : ‘ The murderer shall 
be put to death.’ 

They held a court and decided that three men, 
instead of one, were guilty of Sassamon’s murder. 
These three men were seized and killed, although 
the white men did not have much proof against 
them. 

‘‘‘War! war! Nothing but war is left for us 
now,’ declared Philip’s followers. 

“ The English also thought there must be war. 
They said : ‘ We have nothing to fear. It will be 
an easy matter to conquer Philip and his whole 
tribe.’ 

“ Little did they know how great Philip really 
was, and how much harm he could do. Yet even 
now he was not ready for war. ‘ I will not shed 
the first blood,’ he thought. 

“ About this time a man in the little town of 


32 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


Swanzey fired upon some Indians because they had 
shot his oxen. One of them was wounded. 

“ The red men need wait no longer ; the first blood 
had been shed ! It was the sign to begin the war. 

“ A large party of Indians crept toward the town 
of Swanzey. It was a fast-day. and the people were 
at tjie rrieeting-house.' ' / 

When the, last prayer had been said, and the 
last hymn had been sung, they left the building. 
Alas! what a sight met their eyes. Their homes 
were in flames; around them on all sides sounded 
the report of guns; the savages were shooting at 
them from different hiding-places they had taken 
up.’’ 

“ I pity the poor little children,” cried Lucy in a 
tone of sadness. ‘‘ How frightened they must have 
been ! What did they do. Uncle Sam ? ” 

I suppose some of them hid behind their moth- 
ers’ skirts; others ran wildly about; everybody was 
filled with fear. 

When the sun set that night, nine of the settlers 
had met death at the hands of the Indians. All the 
people of the out-lying settlements were filled with 
fright. 

“ ‘ An army must be sent out at once,’ declared 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


33 


the white men. The very next clay drums were 
beaten on Boston Common; it was the call to 
arms. 

Philip did not go with his warriors to Swan- 
zey. He was at home at Mount Hope when it hap- 
pened. 

“ ‘ We will go straight to Mount Hope/ declared 
the commander of the army. ‘ If we capture or kill 
the chief of the savages, we shall end the trouble 
very quickly.’ 

When they reached Mount Hope, great was 
their surprise to find that Philip was gone. Gone, 
too, were his arms, canoes, and provisions. 

‘ The chief is afraid of us,’ said many of the 
settlers. ^ We need not fear any more harm from 
the Indians.’ 

“ Captain Church did not agree with them. He 
was a very wise as well as a very brave man and 
he had studied Indian ways. He thought : ‘ Per- 
haps at this very moment Philip is planning how to 
surprise us.’ 

'' Captain Church was quite right. Philip had 
fled, to be sure, but he had made a camp in a large 
swamp. It was a good hiding-place for himself 
and his warriors. Here he kept busy directing 


34 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


them where to go so as to take the white people by 
surprise. 

“ One place after another was attacked. Houses 
were burned, cattle killed and many people lost their 
lives. 

“ One of these places was the little town of Brook- 
field. When the people heard that the Indians were 
drawing near, they gathered together in a big house 
made of logs. It was a rough sort of fort and had 
loop-holes to shoot through. 

“ As soon as the savages arrived, they set fire to 
the other houses, but of course that did not satisfy 
them. 

“ ‘ We must attack the block-house,’ they said to 
each other. They crept along through the grass. 
As soon as they were near enough they hid behind 
trees and fences, and began to fire. 

“ But bang ! bang ! also sounded the guns of the 
settlers, and flashes of fire leaped through the loop- 
holes. Several Indians were killed and many 
wounded. 

“ The others howled like wolves. They would 
not give up easily. They took a cart and piled it 
high with bundles of flax. Then they set the flax 
on fire. Hiding behind it, they wheeled it toward 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


35 


the block-house. They meant to burn down the 
building with all the people inside. 

“ But the settlers were watching. Bang ! bang ! 
went the guns and many an Indian fell dead out- 
side the walls. 

The walls are on fire/ whispered one anxious 
watcher to another, as the logs began to smoke and 
tiny flames darted here and there along the walls. 

“ ‘ I will put it out,' cried one brave man. He 
made a sudden rush from the house and did as he 
promised, although the bullets from the guns of 
the Indians fell around him like hailstones. 

“ Not long after this, a body of soldiers arrived 
to help the brave people. The savage enemy fled 
before them, but eighty of their warriors already lay 
dead on the ground about the block-house." 

Good ! good ! " exclaimed Joe, jumping up and 
clapping his hands. The brave men got the bet- 
ter of the savages." 

Yet I can’t help being sorry for the Indians," 
said Lucy slowly. “ They thought they had a right 
to the land and that the white people had not treated 
them honestly. Yes, I am really sorry for the In- 
dians." 

Now you shall hear of another attack made dur- 


36 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


ing King Philip’s war,” continued Uncle Sam. “It 
was in the little town of Hadley. One Sunday the 
people were all at meeting when suddenly they 
heard the alarm sounding outside the building. 

“ The men looked at their frightened wives and 
children. There was but one thing to be done. 
They seized their guns and rushed out to attack 
the cruel foe. It was going hard with them, when 
an old man suddenly appeared. His hair and beard 
were snowy white, but his eyes were bright. 

“ His manner showed that he knew how to com- 
mand. He took instant charge and boldly led the 
attack. It was done so suddenly that the savages 
were themselves taken by surprise, and in a few 
minutes they fled as quickly as they had entered 
the town. 

“ But the old man with long white hair and beard, 
who was he? Where had he come from? When 
the people got over their fright, they asked each 
other these questions. As soon as the danger was 
over, he had disappeared as suddenly as he had 
come to their aid. 

’Twas an angel from heaven who was sent 
to save us,’ said many of the pious Puritans. 

“ But the old man and one family in the village 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


37 


knew better. He had been hiding in the home of 
this family for some time. His name was Goffe. 
He had been a general in the Puritan army in Eng- 
land, and he had fled from there to save his life. 
He had been one of the judges who said : ‘ Our 
king is a wicked one and shall be put to death.' 
This king was Charles the First. He was beheaded 
because of his bad deeds. 

“ After that, the son of Charles I. became king. 
He at once made a search for the judges of his 
father and ordered them to be put to death when- 
ever found. But he could not find General Goffe, 
who had fled to America.” 

I don’t see why he needed to hide here. Uncle 
Sam,” remarked Joe. 

“ The King of England still ruled over those sub- 
jects who had come to America,” was the answer. 
“If he had known that General Goffe was here, he 
would have ordered the people to arrest him and 
send him to England.” 

“ I hope he never heard where the old man was,” 
said Lucy, anxiously. 

“ I never heard that he did,” replied Uncle Sam. 
“ So we will trust that General Goffe died happily 
here among his friends, after living to see the end 


38 OLD COLONY DAYS 

of King Philip’s War. 

“ It all came out right in the end.” Uncle Sam 
spoke very thoughtfully. But I really don’t know 
what the settlers would have done without the aid 
of Captain Church. The Praying Indians helped, 
too. But Captain Church was one of the first white 
men who seemed to understand how to fight In- 
dians. 

“ ‘ You must not march against them in com- 
panies and meet them boldly,’ he told his men. 
* You will only get killed. Don’t you see how they 
creep along through the grass and shoot from be- 
hind rocks and trees? You must fight in the same 
way, and you won’t lose so many lives.’ 

Captain Church knew how to talk with Indians, 
too. He wasn’t proud in his manner. He spoke 
as though the Indians were the equals of the white 
men and made them feel friendly toward him. 

“ He was so jolly and pleasant that many of the 
red men besides the Praying Indians joined with 
the white people. They loved Captain Church so 
dearly that they would do anything he asked, even 
if it were the taking of their best friends. 

The time came at last when the proud King 
Philip had to flee from one swamp to another. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


39 


‘ You ought to make peace with the white men/ 
one of his followers dared to tell him. 

“ Make peace ! It was not to be thought of. 
No, not even to save his life! Indeed, Philip was so 
angry at the man for speaking of such a thing that 
he turned upon him and killed him on the spot. 
When the man’s brother heard of his death, he was 
very angry. 

“ ‘ I will not stand by our chief any longer,’ he 
said to himself. ‘ I will go to the white people and 
tell them where he is hiding. Then they can find 
him and kill him.’ 

“ He hurried away as fast as he could, and went 
straight to Captain Church. The brave captain had 
just returned home from a long hunt after Philip. 

When Church’s wife saw him, she was so glad 
that she fainted. She had worried about him while 
he was away on his dangerous hunt. Just as her 
eyes opened, the Indian reached the door of her 
house. 

“ Captain Church stayed at home only long 
enough to give his wife a few comforting words. 
Then he dashed out of the house, leaped on his 
horse’s back, and away he rode to gather his men 
together and start off once more on the hunt. 


40 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


In the meantime poor King Philip, sad and un- 
happy, was hiding in the swamp. He had little to 
hope for now. He had already lost wife and child, 
for they had been seized by the white men and sent 
to be slaves in the West Indies. Many of his peo- 
ple had been killed or made prisoners, most of the 
others had made friends with the white settlers ; only 
a few of his followers were with him in the swamp. 

Hark ! A sound could be heard in the distance. 
The white men were drawing near. They were 
surrounding the swamp. Away fled the Indians, 
some in one direction, some in another. 

Alas for King Philip ! He went straight for 
the very Indian who had deserted him. The man’s 
gun was aimed at the unhappy chief. Whizz ! flew 
the bullet into Philip’s heart ; he fell backward upon 
the ground of the swamp. The last chief of a 
brave tribe was dead. 

‘ His head shall be cut off and shall be stuck 
over the gate-post at Plymouth,’ said the white men. 
* It will be a warning to the savages, and will teach 
them to let us alone.’ ” 

‘‘ Ugh ! What a dreadful thing to do,” cried 
Lucy with a shudder. 

‘‘ Yes, my dear, it was certainly dreadful. But 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


41 


the times were different from now, and everybody 
thought it was quite proper,’' replied Uncle Sam. 

As he spoke he looked up at the clock. Dear 
me, I had no idea how late it was getting,” he said. 

I must finish my story in five minutes, or your 
mother will be here after two lost children.” 

“ She knows we are all right if we are with you,” 
declared Joe. “ But, Uncle Sam, I don’t see why 
the story isn’t finished. When King Philip was 
killed, of course the war was over.” 

“ One of his bravest warriors had escaped, how- 
ever. His name was Annawam, and he was the 
chief’s dearest friend. A number of Indians had 
fled with him. 

“Captain Church said to his men: ‘We must 
certainly catch Annawam. No one knows what 
harm he may do yet.’ 

“ Church knew pretty well where Annawam was 
camping. It was in a deep, lonely valley, protected 
by high, steep banks. 

“ ‘ We must move very carefully and take Anna- 
wam by surprise,’ said the captain. ‘ Otherwise he 
may be too strong for us.’ 

“ The brave captain thought of a clever plan. 
He took two Indian prisoners and gave them large 


42 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


baskets to carry. One of these prisoners was a 
young woman ; the other was an old man. Church 
ordered them to go ahead while he and his men 
crept behind them. 

“ They came to the steep bank and went slowly 
down over its side. They appeared so suddenly in 
Annawam’s camp that they seized the Indians’ guns 
before the savages could arm themselves. 

“ Annawam saw that there was no hope. He 
gave himself up to the white men, and he even or- 
dered his women to get supper for them. 

“ After Church and his soldiers had eaten, he 
turned to them and said : ^ I will try to get a nap, 
for I am tired out. You, however, must watch 
while I sleep.’ 

“ He lay down on the ground, and Annawam, 
too, lay down; the white warrior and the Indian 
kept their eyes on each other. After a while Anna- 
wam got up and moved away. 

“ ‘ Perhaps he has a gun hidden somewhere and 
he means to kill me with it,’ thought Church. ‘ I 
will creep close to his sleeping son. Then, if he 
shoots, he will also injure his own child.’ 

“ But Annawam had no hidden gun. Neither 
did he have a thought of harm against Church. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


43 


He soon came back, and, kneeling down beside the 
white man, held out a bundle, which he opened. 
In this bundle were the belts of wampum and the 
red blanket which had been so precious to his chief. 

“ Annawam spoke in sad tones as he offered these 
things to Church. The war was over, and his chief 
was dead. Captain Church had beaten the Indians. 
Therefore he deserved to own the precious wampum 
and blanket. 

And now, children, you have heard the end of 
King Philip’s War,” said Uncle Sam, jumping up 
from his chair. Run home to your supper as 
fast as you can go. You are fifteen minutes late, 
at least.” 

I can’t help feeling sorry for Annawam,” Joe 
called back through the open door. 

And I too,” cried Lucy as she followed her 
brother into the early darkness. 


CHAPTER III 


THE HAPPY DUTCH PEOPLE 

you dear, dear Uncle! You are so good 
to come just when I couldn’t amuse myself 
a minute longer.” 

As she spoke, Lucy sat up in bed and put out 
her arms to her old friend. She was getting over 
the measles and the time was heavy on her hands. 

“ See what I’ve brought you, Lucy.” 

Uncle Sam held up a big brown paper parcel. 

“ Please open it and let me see this minute what 
is inside,” cried the little girl. 

“ Oh I oh ! oh ! ” she exclaimed a moment later, 
as Uncle Sam held up a large wax doll before her 
delighted eyes. Its eyes were blue, like her own; 
its soft yellow hair hung in long curls down its 
back ; it said “ mamma ” as the old man pressed it 
at the waist. It was beautifully dressed in pink 
satin and white lace. No wonder that Lucy cried 

oh ! ” when she saw it. 

'' I sent all the way to New York for that doll,” 
44 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


45 


Uncle Sam declared proudly. “ I knew you would 
be lonesome when you began to get better. You 
need something new to entertain you. Joe is a 
pretty good boy, but he does not want to stay with 
you all the time.” 

“ What are you saying about me? ” cried a voice 
from the next room. 

“ Joe, come in here as quickly as you can. See 
what Uncle Sam has brought me,” called his sister. 

“ That is a fine doll,” said Joe in a lordly way. 

It is some fun to be sick, after all, isn’t it, Lucy ? 
Too bad I had the measles when I was a baby, or 
I might keep you company and get a wax doll from 
New York, too.” 

Joe laughed at the idea of his owning a doll. 

New York is a wonderful city,” Uncle Sam 
said, as he sat down beside the bed, and looked ten- 
derly at the little sick girl. She was holding her 
doll tightly in her arms, and had no eye for any- 
thing else. 

'' I wonder what the old Dutchmen would say 
now to the statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn 
bridge, and the tall buildings reaching up to the 
sky?” said Joe. As he spoke he perched himself 
cross-legged on the footboard of the bedstead. 


46 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


“ I declare I don’t know,” answered Uncle Sam. 
^'They were an easy, jolly lot of people, though. 
I don’t think they would have let themselves get 
much excited over anything.” 

Uncle Sam settled back in the chair in a way 
that plainly said : “ I have a story all ready and I 
have plenty of time to tell it.” 

Joe and Lucy knew the sign and they were glad. 

“ Dolly, dear, this shall be your first lesson in 
history, and I hope it is to be about the place you 
came from,” whispered Lucy. Joe heard her and 
began to laugh. 

“ Never mind, Lucy. We don’t care if boys do 
make fun of us,” said Uncle Sam softly. Then he 
began his story, and before long both children were 
so interested that the doll was quite forgotten. 

It was about New York, as Lucy had hoped; but 
when the Dutch people settled there it wasn’t called 
by that name. They called it New Netherlands, 
after their old home across the ocean, as Holland 
was often called the Netherlands. In the same way, 
the Pilgrims and Puritans called their home in this 
country New England, after the old home they 
still loved. 

The Dutch people found a beautiful country. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


47 


“We can have fine gardens here/’ they said to each 
other. “ Our cattle will grow fat feeding on the 
rich grass, and we can raise all the ducks and chick- 
ens we wish. Yes, we can be very happy in our 
new home.” 

They were not afraid of the Indians. They were 
so pleasant, indeed, that the red men were quite 
ready to sell the rich furs they got in the hunt, and 
take the shining beads and trinkets given in return. 

One of the first places which the Dutch chose 
for a home was the island of Manhattan, at the 
mouth of the Hudson River. It was the very spot 
where the great city of New York now stands. 

“ We will pay the Indians for it,” said the new- 
comers, and they gave the savages twenty-four dol- 
lars in beads and ornaments. 

“ Twenty-four dollars ! ” exclaimed Joe. “ Why, 
the land is worth thousands of dollars, I should 
think.” 

“ You had better say millions, even billions, Joe,” 
replied Uncle Sam, laughing. “ But there is a 
great difference between those days and the present, 
and the Indians were probably well pleased with 
the pile of trinkets. As for land, they had more 
than they could use.” 


48 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


The old man then went on with his story. He 
told how the busy Dutchmen set to work to make 
a home for themselves. 

They made the place look just as much as possi- 
ble like a town in Holland. The houses were made 
of wood with gable roofs. Each roof must have 
at least one gay weather-cock to tell which way the 
wind was blowing. Sometimes, indeed, a weather- 
cock was perched at every corner. 

Inside the house there was always a big fireplace 
with tiles set around it. Usually these tiles were 
arranged so as to tell a picture story from the Bible. 
Perhaps it was about Noah and the ark, or maybe 
Jonah and the whale. 

The busy Dutch women were fine housekeepers. 
They taught their daughters to sew and spin and 
knit ; they gave them lessons in cooking and showed 
them how to fry balls of sweetened dough and 
make them puff up into the light, brown crullers 
they loved so well. 

There were no carpets in the houses ; instead, the 
floors were covered each day with fresh white sand 
which the boys brought from the seashore. The 
little girls were taught to trace pretty pictures in 















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OLD COLONY DAYS 


49 


the sand, and to keep the rooms free from the small- 
est speck of dust. 

There were no lamps to fill ; in the early winter 
evenings, the rooms were lighted by candles made 
by the women from tallow, or by big pine knots. 
While the pine knots were burning, they filled the 
air with a sweet and pleasant odor. 

“ Early to bed and early to rise,” was the rule by 
which the good Dutch people lived. They got up 
with the sun and went to bed soon after its setting. 
Dinner was at eleven o’clock. Stylish tea parties 
began at three in the afternoon and ended at six; 
the tea was poured from a china teapot on which 
pretty shepherds or shepherdesses were painted, or 
perhaps there was a picture of a windmill, like the 
one in the village, or a house with weather-cocks 
on the roof. You must understand that tea was a 
new thing to Europeans and cost a hundred times 
as much as it does now. It was only in the latter 
days of New Amsterdam that the richest families 
knew anything about it. 

What good times the little Dutch children had 
when their work was done! In winter there was 
skating on the river and long sleigh-rides over the 
ice and snow. Then came the jolly Christmas time 


50 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


when a feast was spread in honor of Santa Claus, 
or St. Nicholas. What good things were eaten at 
that time; there were crullers, of course, besides all 
sorts of sweet cakes baked in odd shapes ; there 
were roasted turkeys and legs of venison. 

There was a Christmas tree shining with candles 
to delight the hearts of old and young. There 
were games in which everybody took part, and 
stories told of the good St. Nick and the fairies the 
children loved so dearly. 

Christmas fun was hardly over when the New 
Year must be greeted with more feasting. All day 
long the Dutchmen and their wives stood ready to 
receive their friends and wish them joy through the 
year to come; it was a time of gladness. 

When the snow and ice began to melt and the 
first warm days arrived, the children were all ready 
to welcome the beautiful Easter. The women 
boiled great numbers of eggs and dyed them all the 
colors of the rainbow. These must be ready for 
the Easter game of hide-and-seek; early on that 
morning the eggs were hidden in all sorts of odd 
places and the happy children began the hunt. Who 
would have the sharpest eyes and find the largest 
number of the hidden eggs? 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


51 


The Dutch people had their own fashions about 
dress. The men wore several coats trimmed with 
brass buttons; their shoes were adorned with large 
silver buckles ; their hats had low crowns and wide 
brims; their hair was braided in long queues and 
then tied into sealskin bags. 

The hair of the women was combed back very 
tightly from about their faces and fastened beneath 
a little cap; they wore many skirts and never felt 
quite dressed without large pockets ; in these pockets 
they carried needles and pins, scissors and thread. 
They must always be ready to sew and mend. 

There was a very rich company of merchants 
in Holland who called themselves the West India 
Company. The Dutch ruler of their country gave 
them the right to all the land in America they 
could get. The company was very rich, but it 
was not satsfied. Its men said : ‘‘ We will gain 

large sums of money by trading with the Indians 
for furs.’’ 

For this reason the West India Company sent 
Dutch families to settle in New Amsterdam, as 
they called that part of the New Netherlands which 
is now the city of New York. Most of these fam- 
ilies, however, were not free to trade and get rich 


52 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


in ally way they wished. They were hired by the 
patroons and were bound by hard laws. 

The patroons were like chiefs or lords over the 
others. The West India Company had said : “ Any- 
one who belongs to this company shall have sixteen 
miles of land along the Hudson River, if he will 
settle in America. He need not pay any taxes for 
ten years. All the people who work for him must 
do so for the whole time they have promised.” 

It did not matter how hard these patroons made 
their people work. They had made a bargain and 
they must keep it. It is no wonder that the patroons 
became very rich and lived in grand style. Their 
wives could give as many tea-parties as they wished 
and could ride around the country in their carriages. 
They could have the finest china and silver on their 
tables. 

Then, too, the patroons had black slaves from 
Africa to serve them. It was the Dutch people, 
indeed, whose ships brought the first slaves to sell 
in this beautiful free America. In the early days 
of New Amsterdam it was a common thing to see 
a black boy fanning his mistress, and keeping the 
flies from alighting on her snowy cap. 

Peter Minuit was the first governor of New 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


53 


Netherlands. He lived in grand state for those 
days; he had three Negro slaves to wait on him. 
He made hard laws for the people. One of the first 
things he did was to set up stocks and a pillory at 
New Amsterdam. He said : “ The people must 
fear me. Then they will not dare to disobey.^’ 

This was quite different from the ways of the 
Pilgrims and Puritans. The people in New Eng- 
land had a share in making their own laws; they 
owned their farms. But in New Netherlands, the 
governor was like a great and mighty lord, and the 
patroons were lesser lords. 

After a while another governor came to take the 
place of Peter Minuit. His name was Wouter van 
Twiller. The name just suited the stout, puffy, 
fussy little man. As he sailed into the harbor, the 
cannons of the fort roared and the drums beat in 
welcome. 

He came on shore and found everyone ready to 
do him honor. Great casks of wine were opened, 
and mugs were filled with beer to drink the health 
of Wouter van Twiller. 

Soon after he arrived, an English vessel sailed 
into the harbor. Her sails were furled, and her 
anchor was dropped. 


54 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


Come on board and dine with me/’ was the 
message her captain sent to the governor. 

Of course the fat little governor was ready for 
a feast. He and his leading men at once made 
ready. They went on board the English vessel 
and had a fine dinner, besides all the good wine 
they could drink. 

When the guests came back on shore, what was 
Wouter van Twiller’s surprise to see the sails spread, 
and the English vessel making her way up the 
Hudson River. She was going to trade with the 
Indians. 

And he, the Dutch governor, had not been asked 
for his leave to trade! How did the English dare 
to do such a thing! He was very angry and or- 
dered the soldiers to make the cannon ready. 

Boom ! boom ! sounded the big gun, but the Eng- 
lish ship did not pay any attention. Away she sailed 
up the Hudson as if she did not care for any Dutch 
cannon in the world. 

“ I will send another ship after her,” thought the 
angry little governor. The Zouterberg was made 
ready, and she too went up the Hudson. 

When she came in sight of the English ship, her 
trumpeter blew a long, strong blast as a warning 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


55 


of what might come next. The captain of the Eng- 
lish ship did not wish to fight, so he made ready to 
leave. 

Wouter van Twiller was not such a bad governor 
after all. He let the people do much as they 
pleased, and they had many good times. But the 
next governor was not so kind. He made hard 
laws; he even ordered the Indians to pay him trib- 
ute. They did not like this, you may be sure. 

Kill wild animals just to get furs to lay at the 
governor’s feet! Let their squaws raise corn for 
him to eat, and no pay for it, either I Why should 
they pay tribute? They scowled angrily at the 
idea, and grunted in an ugly way. 

By this time the Dutch people in New Nether- 
lands had white neighbors to the south of them as 
well as to the eastward. This was the way it hap- 
pened. Across the ocean in Sweden was a good, 
kind king who had seen a great deal of war in his 
life. He had seen people fight against each other 
because they did not believe alike as to religion, 
and it made him sad at heart. He thought of 
America. He said to himself : In that beautiful 
land, all men can live together like brothers.” 

He formed a company, and sent people to settle 


56 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


here. One day two ships came sailing into Dela- 
ware Bay. How beautiful the country looked to 
the people on board! The air was sweet with the 
scents of flowers; the fields were a lovely green; 
graceful trees moved gently in the breeze; it seemed 
as if everything wished to bid welcome to the new- 
comers. 

Up the river they sailed till they found the very 
place they wished for a home. It was not long 
before a church and fort were built, as well as log 
houses for the people to live in. 

“ This will never do I ’’ cried the Dutchmen when 
they heard what the Swedes were doing. ‘‘ It will 
never do for a moment. Those Swedes are settling 
on land that belongs to us.” 

They sent word to the Swedes, telling them to 
leave the country. But the Swedes did not stop 
in their work. They had paid the Indians for the 
land, and thought they had a right to it. 

This made the beginning of trouble; before it 
was over, there was a battle. The Dutch seized 
the fort of the Swedes, and they could not get it 
back again. After that, however, the Swedes de- 
stroyed a fort that the Dutch had built on the Dela- 
ware River. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


57 


This was too much for the angry Dutchmen. 
Seven warships were made ready and filled with 
soldiers. The poor Swedes had little hope when 
they saw such a powerful enemy drawing near; 
they had to give up. It was the end of their power 
in America. 

This happened while Peter Stuyvesant was gov- 
ernor of New Netherlands. He had several nick- 
names. One of these was “ Old Silver Leg/’ be- 
cause he had a wooden leg bound with bands of 
silver. When he was angry, which was too often, 
he stamped about on his wooden leg in a very 
funny way. 

Another one of his nicknames was “ Headstrong 
Peter,” because he was always determined to have 
his own way. 

Headstrong Peter overcame the Swedes quite 
easily, but his neighbors in New England were 
getting stronger every day. They were growing to 
be more powerful, and were pushing their settle- 
ments farther and farther to the west. 

What right have the Dutch in America? ” they 
asked each other. “To be sure, Henry Hudson 
sailed up the river named for him, but what of 
that? Cabot sailed along the shores of the whole 


58 OLD COLONY DAYS 

country a hundred years before that time/’ 

There was a good deal of trouble over the mat- 
ter; before it was settled the King of England 
heard about it. He said to his brother, the Duke 
of York: You may have the land held by the 
Dutch in America, if you will send over and take 
it.” 

Four war vessels were quickly made ready and 
they sailed away across the Atlantic. 

Word was brought to Governor Stuyvesant. He 
hurried up the Hudson River to see that the fort 
there was ready for attack. Then he hurried to 
New Amsterdam. He ordered his slaves to thresh 
wheat and carry it into the fort. But alas! he 
found he had only six hundred pounds of powder. 
His soldiers could not hold the fort very long with 
such a small supply as that. 

On came the English ships, sailing straight into 
the harbor. 

As soon as they had anchored, their commander 
sent a message to the Dutch governor. If the fort 
were given up without a fight, the people should 
not be harmed. They could keep their homes, but 
the English would rule the country. 

Headstrong Peter was very angry; he tore the 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


59 


letter into pieces. But the leading men of the place 
were wiser than he. It would be of no use to stand 
out against the English. They tried to show this 
to him. At last, with pale face, he gave the order : 

Hoist the white flag.” 

This was really the end of the Dutch power in 
America, although the colony was given back to 
Holland by the English for a little while. Then the 
New Netherlands came to a final end and it was 
called New York; an English governor now had 
charge of it. 

Dutch fashions were still seen, however. Indeed, 
many of the English people who came to the colony 
followed them. To this day the New Year and 
Easter are celebrated as in the good old Dutch days 
of Wouter van Twiller and “ Old Silver Leg.” 

Is that all ? ” sleepily asked Lucy, as Uncle 
Sam became silent. 

I don’t believe you heard half of the story, 
Lucy,” declared Joe. Your eyes were shut tight 
and you breathed just as though you were dreaming 
of that new doll instead of listening to the doings 
of the old Dutchmen.” 

Never mind, my dear child,” said Uncle Sam, 
as Lucy’s eyes looked quite indignant. “ I wanted 


6o 


OW COLONY DAYS 


to make the time pass quickly for you. I think I 
succeeded, whether you were asleep or awake. 

Good-by, little one,’’ he added tenderly. ‘‘ I 
hope the next time I come you will be strong 
enough to be downstairs. The house is lonesome 
without your feet pattering about it.” 

“ I should think mine made enough noise to pre- 
vent that,” Joe said, laughingly. And as if to 
prove his words he ran down stairs ahead of the 
old man, clattering his heels at every step. Lucy 
was obliged to bury her head in the pillows, for it 
was still very weak. 

“ Boys are so thoughtless,” she said to herself. 

But then, they don’t mean to be so. They just 
don’t know any better.” 


CHAPTER IV 


THE TYRANT AND THE BRAVE MAN 

44T HATE a tyrant!” exclaimed Uncle Sam. 

JL As he said these words his face looked 
quite stern, and he pressed his lips together in a 
way he sometimes had when he felt very strongly. 

Joe had just told him about a story he had read 
in school that day. It was the story of the brave 
William Tell, who dared to defy the cruel man 
sent to rule over the people of Switzerland. 

“ Pm glad we never have tyrants in America,” 
replied Joe. It is the best country in the world.” 

“ But there have been tyrants here, Joe. And the 
only reason they didn’t do any more harm was that 
the people themselves had the spirit of William 
Tell. If you will sit down and listen, I will tell you 
the story of a brave man in Virginia. He dared 
to disobey the governor because it was the right 
thing to do. His name was Nathaniel Bacon.” 

‘‘ I’m ready, of course. Uncle Sam. But first 
let me call Lucy.” 

61 


62 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


The little girl was upstairs playing with her dolls' 
house. She was pretty well over the measles by 
this time, but not strong enough to go outdoors. 

“Lucy! Lucy!” called Joe. “Uncle Sam ' is 
here, and he is going to tell us a story.” 

Luck tucked her new doll into bed, for she was 
playing that it was sick with the measles, very 
sick. 

Then she came downstairs with a happy smile 
on her face. 

“ There’s one good thing about being sick,” she 
said as she nestled beside Uncle Sam on the sofa, 
“ you come here oftener.” 

, “ Yes, and he tells us more stories,” added Joe. 
“ This afternoon he is going to tell about a mean 
old tyrant in Virginia.” 

“ It was about the time of King Philip’s war,” 
began Uncle Sam. “ An English governor named 
Berkeley ruled over the people in Virginia. He 
lived in a grand house on the bank of the James 
River. 

“ When he went out to ride, he went in a big, 
stately coach; he had many black slaves to wait on 
him; his table was set with silver; his stables were 
filled with fine horses. He was a sort of king in 


OLD COLONY DAYS 63 

his way. He did not care how the common people 
got along. 

Schools ! ’ thought the governor. ‘ What use 
would they be? If the people learn much, they will 
only grow proud. I will do nothing to help the 
poor learn.’ 

‘ I will not have roads built, either,’ he said. 
‘ They cost too much money. When the people 
wish to sell their corn and tobacco, they can send 
them in boats down the river.’ 

The people of Virginia had long ago found that 
tobacco would grow well in the rich soil. After 
John Smith went back to England, there had been 
a starving time in the colony. The people had to 
eat dogs and horses, and sometimes even rats, to 
keep themselves alive. 

A ship from England arrived just in time to 
save the colony. It brought plenty of food. It 
also brought a company of men to make Jamestown 
larger and stronger. 

“ Not long after this, the settlers began to raise 
tobacco. They chose the shores of the rivers for 
their plantations. They bought black slaves from 
the Dutch traders to do the hard work. 

Each plantation soon became a little village by 


OLD CQLONY DAYS 


itself. There was the comfortable home of the 
planter, with its big rooms and wide verandas. 
One part of the house was made into a chapel; 
prayers were said and hymns sung here every Sun- 
day, and sometimes a sermon was preached by a 
minister. 

“ The master of the house hired a man to teach 
the children. He lived on the plantation with his 
pupils. 

“ Not far from the grand mansion were other and 
smaller houses. Here the white workmen lived 
with their families. There were also many little 
cabins in which the black slaves had their homes. 
There were big stables and kennels, of course, in 
which the horses and dogs of the master were kept. 

“ There was little money in Virginia; and stores 
were few. The people traded with each other for 
the goods that the one needed and the other had. 
Tobacco was sent to England and tools and cloth- 
ing came back in return. 

“ Grand parties and balls were often given in the 
big mansions of the planters. In the winter time 
these began early in the evening and lasted almost 
till the sun rose. This was not much like the ways 
of the Dutch people farther north, you may well 
believe. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


65 


“ Such beautiful dresses were worn at these par- 
ties ; they were silks and satins with gorgeous flow- 
ers worked in the pattern; they were so heavy and 
stiff that they would stand alone. 

The gentlemen’s coats were made of velvet or 
silk and trimmed with gold lace and gilt buttons; 
silver buckles shone at their knees and on their 
shoes; the natural hair was covered with a big- 
wig powdered a snowy white. 

“ The ladies had a queer fashion of their own ; 
before going to a party they went to a hair dresser 
who combed and rolled their hair and built it up 
very high on their heads. It was fastened there so 
tightly that if the ladies were careful it would stay 
firm for several days. 

It was only the rich planters and their wives 
who could dress in this grand manner. The work- 
ing men could not wear gold lace even if they had 
money to buy it; there was a law against their do- 
ing so. They wore breeches made of leather, and 
coarse shirts and jackets. Their wives and chil- 
dren were glad even to get a sight of the rich peo- 
ple dressed in silks and velvets and riding in their 
grand coaches. 

‘ Such things are not for us,’ they would say 


66 


OLD^ COLONY DAYS 


with a sigh. ‘ Ah ! but how beautiful they are ! ' 

'' Of course nobody lived in grander style than 
the governor himself. With fast horses to drive, 
fine clothes to wear, and feasting every day, what 
cared he about Virginia and her people? 

“ Trouble came after a while. The Indians in 
the country heard about the war King Philip was 
waging in the north. ‘ We too will rise,’ they mut- 
tered to each other. ‘ We hate these proud pale- 
faces.’ 

You remember there were scarcely any roads in 
the country. The plantations were scattered here 
and there along the rivers. It was an easy matter 
for a party of Indians to creep up and take a planta- 
tion by surprise. Suddenly the warwhoop would 
ring through the air ; before the people could protect 
themselves, the cruel savages had set fire to their 
homes. 

What a dreadful time it was ! As the fright- 
ened inmates fled from the burning buildings, paint- 
ed red men with tomahawks and knives darted out 
upon them. Then came a terrible death. No one 
was spared. No, not even babies in their mothers’ 
arms ! 

Is it any wonder that the settlers called upon 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


67 


the governor for help? Soldiers were needed to 
drive back the Indians and free the country. But 
the governor said to himself : ‘ I do not wish to 
make the Indians my enemies, for I gain very much 
from my trade with them. They bring me beauti- 
ful furs which I buy cheap and afterward sell in 
Europe for a great price. No, I will not send sol- 
diers out against them.' 

“ Still came cries from the frightened settlers. 
^ We are not safe for a moment,’ they said. ‘ We 
never know when the Indians may come. Pray, 
send soldiers at once to protect us.’ 

“ But the governor’s ears were deaf to their cries. 

“ Then the people said : ‘We must form a com- 
pany of our own to go out against the Indians.’ 

“ Several hundred men were gathered, but there 
was no leader, for the tyrant Berkeley would not 
let anyone take the command. Then a young man 
called Nathaniel Bacon took pity on them. Bacon 
belonged to the governor’s own council. He was 
brave and generous; he was also rich. He had a 
bright, clever mind. 

“ He said to the governor : ‘ Let me take charge 
of the company.’ But the old tyrant only answered, 
‘No!’ 


68 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


How sorry Bacon felt ! He went to the men’s 
camp. He wished to keep up their courage. As 
soon as they saw the kind, handsome face among 
them, they cried out, ‘ A Bacon ! a Bacon ! ’ They 
meant by this that they chose him for their leader. 

Bacon could not refuse, yet he felt that he 
might lose his head if he took command of the 
troops. He knew too well how angry the governor 
would be.” 

‘‘ Supper is ready,” called a cheerful voice. 
“ Uncle Sam, your place is set between Joe and 
Lucy. Come at once to the dining-room.” 

“ Oh, mother! Uncle Sam was just in the middle 
of a story,” said Joe. “ I hate to have him stop.” 

‘‘ I can talk all the better after supper. Come, 
Joe, don’t keep your good mother waiting a minute 
longer.” 

Mrs. Day led the way to the dining-room, and 
the family were soon busy eating fresh corn bread, 
preserved peaches, and jelly cake. 


CHAPTER V 


BACON AND THE INDIANS 

44|7^0RWARD to battle! shouted Joe, as soon 

JL as the last piece of cake had disappeared 
from the table. 

Dear me, Joe, you quite startled me,” said his 
mother. You certainly forgot your manners.” 

“ Excuse me, mother dear, but we must hurry 
after those Indians in Virginia. Bacon is calling 
us,” answered her small son. 

Joe jumped down from his seat and marched to 
the sitting-room with the step of a soldier. Every- 
one laughed. 

I think I will listen, too,” said Mr. Day. ‘‘ I 
can read my paper later, and I must say I don’t 
remember Bacon’s story very well.” 

I, too, will join you,” said his wife. 

Uncle Sam was already in his old place on the 
sofa. Joe and Lucy were on either side. Mr. Day 
took the armchair, while his wife seated herself in 
a low rocker with her mending, so that she too 
might listen to the story that followed. 

69 


70 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


Nathaniel Bacon was a true son of America. 
He had no fear in his heart. Away he went after 
the red men at the head of his company. He came 
upon them so suddenly that he took them by sur- 
prise and killed many of them. 

I will hang the bold rebel/' cried the angry 
governor, when he heard what Bacon had done. 
He started at once with a band of soldiers to find 
him and bring him to punishment. 

While he was still looking for Bacon, he heard 
that there was trouble in Jamestown. The people 
had risen against him. He had to turn back at 
once to settle the trouble. 

But the people were roused. ‘‘We want you to 
choose new men in your council,” they announced. 
“ The laws must be better ! " Not only this, but 
they asked that Bacon himself should again be one 
of the councillors. 

Up to this time the old governor had done pretty 
much as he pleased. Nearly all the men in his 
council worked with him and were his friends. 

There was no help for it, however. The people 
were so excited that he had to promise what they 
wished. 

When Bacon came back from fighting the In- 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


71 


dians, he was the idol of everyone but the old gov- 
ernor. 

‘‘We must save him from any harm/’ said the 
people firmly. “ No one knows what Berkeley may 
do.” 

Thirty men armed themselves with guns. They 
went with Bacon all the way to Jamestown, where 
the council was to be held. Even now Bacon was 
not safe. The governor’s followers seized him and 
carried him to Berkeley. 

“ You had better ask the governor to forgive you 
for what you did,” advised one of Bacon’s friends. 
“ It is the only safe thing for you to do.” 

Bacon took the advice; yet he was not safe, even 
now. Berkeley had already made a plan for taking 
the young man’s life. The news was carried to 
Bacon secretly in the night. A horse was brought 
in the darkness. The brave man leaped upon his 
back, and rode away through the country till he 
came to a safe place among his friends. 

But he did not rest; he gathered five hundred 
men and marched into Jamestown at their head. 

“ See that just laws are made for the people,” 
he ordered Berkeley. “ Also sign a paper making 


72 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


me a general.” When the governor saw the troops, 
he felt obliged to do as Bacon demanded. 

“ More trouble with the Indians,” was the word 
that now came from the outer settlements. Bacon 
did not waste a moment, but hurried away to attack 
the savages. 

As soon as Berkeley was left alone, he called out 
the militia. ‘‘ When the rebel gets back here again, 
I will be ready for him,” he thought. 

The militia heard why he had ordered them out. 
They had no love for him, while they admired the 
brave Bacon. They began to shout, “ Bacon ! Ba- 
con ! Bacon ! ” and left the field. 

It is said that the old governor fainted at these 
words. It was his turn to flee now, for the people 
had joined together against him. 

Bacon was not safe, however. Away to the east 
Berkeley was gathering his friends around him. 
On the other side were the Indians taking every 
chance to surprise the white men. 

The savages did so many cruel deeds that Bacon 
saw he must leave Jamestown to attack them once 
more. He started out boldly on his dangerous er- 
rand. On the way his men often suffered from 
want of food; they even had to kill their horses 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


73 


and hunt through the woods for nuts to keep them- 
selves from starving. 

Bad news ! Bad news ! ’’ was what Bacon heard 
as soon as he came near the homes of the outer 
settlers. “ Berkeley has seized Jamestown again.” 

Tired as he was, there was only one thing for 
Bacon to do; he must march to Jamestown as quick- 
ly as he could. He must take Berkeley by surprise. 
As he hurried by the scattered settlements, even the 
women came out to cheer him. They cried : “We 
will help you if you have need of us.” 

It was a wonderful march for the tired troops. 
They went so fast that they did indeed surprise 
Berkeley. More than this ! They dug trenches 
around Jamestown in the night. Berkeley and his 
party were prisoners inside. 

This was not all that Bacon did. He got some 
cannon; but how could he set them up without 
risking the lives of his men? A happy thought 
came to him. He sent soldiers to the plantations 
near by. These soldiers were to seize the wives of 
the planters who were Berkeley’s friends and bring 
them to his camp. 

He said to these ladies: “ You must sit down in 
front of the works while we set up the cannon.” 


74 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


He felt sure that Berkeley’s soldiers would not fire 
their guns at their own wives. 

As soon as the cannon were set up, Bacon said: 
“ Now, ladies, you may go home in peace.” 

Berkeley saw it was of no use to try to hold 
Jamestown, so he and his friends went on board 
some vessels and sailed away. 

“ It will not do to leave the town standing,” 
thought Bacon. Berkeley and his friends will 
only try to seize it again.” So he gave the order to 
set fire to the place, and Jamestown was soon burned 
to the ground. 

By this time nearly everyone in Virginia was on 
Bacon’s side. But he had worked too hard ; he be- 
came very sick and died a short time afterward. 

“ Berkeley will not even let his body rest in 
quiet,” said Bacon’s friends. They put heavy 
stones in his coffin, so it is probable that they sunk 
it in the James River. No one knows for certain 
what was done with it. 

The tyrant Berkeley still lived to do cruel deeds. 
After Bacon died, his friends lost heart, for they 
had no leader. Berkeley searched them out and 
put twenty of them to death. When the King of 
England heard what the tyrant had done, he or- 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


75 


dered him to leave Virginia and return to Eng- 
land. 

He felt the disgrace. He was no longer a lord 
over others. He died a short time afterward of a 
broken heart. 

“ I’m glad he did. The mean old tyrant ! ” ex- 
claimed Joe, as the story came to an end. 

“ I’m sorry the poor, brave Bacon didn’t live to 
enjoy happy days,” added Lucy. 

He had done great good, though, without real- 
izing it. He had waked up the longing for free- 
dom in the people around him,” said Uncle Sam. 
“ It helped to make them ready for a greater fight 
for freedom by and by.” 


CHAPTER VI 


THE LAND OF FLOWERS 

^ ^ T"^ O you remember Ponce de Leon ? ’’ 

Uncle Sam was sitting by the open fire in 
his cosy room. He had just finished reading a let- 
ter that Joe had brought from the postoffice. 

“ Remember that cruel old Spaniard ! I wish I 
could forget him/’ said Joe with a shake of his 
head. 

“ He was the man who made the Indians work 
so hard, and even killed them in sport. Yes, of 
course we remember him and his search for the 
Fountain of Youth,” said Lucy. 

I have just received a letter from a friend of 
mine in Florida,” Uncle Sam weut on. “ He has 
orange groves there, and he says he has sent me a 
box of large, sweet oranges ; they will probably get 
here to-morrow or the day after. Then we will 
have a treat.” 

It makes my mouth water to think of it. I 
hope the box will hurry up and get here,” said Joe. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


77 


‘‘This friend has a beautiful home in Florida. 
Magnolias and palmetto trees grow around his 
house. It is so warm there that he can sit on his 
veranda all the year round.’’ 

“ Ponce de Leon thought it was a beautiful coun- 
try. That is why he called it Florida, I remember,” 
remarked Lucy. 

“ Quite right, my dear. Perhaps you would like 
to hear how in the old times, two different countries 
tried to keep it for their own.” 

The children nodded their heads. 

“ Very well. Lucy, dear, you had better lie down 
on the lounge and rest. You are not very strong 
yet. Now, then, we will go back to the very be- 
ginning. 

“ Columbus had discovered the new world and 
planted the banner of Spain there; Ponce de Leon 
had visited the shores of Florida. Stories of the 
beautiful land had been carried across the ocean. 

“ ‘ I, too, would like to cross the Atlantic and 
find stores of gold and precious stones ! ’ cried many 
a Spaniard. 

“ More than one daring man gathered a company 
about him and sailed to America. Some went back 


/ 


78 OLD COLONY DAYS 

laden with riches. Others met only trouble and 
death. 

One of these was the young De Soto. He had 
been with Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, and had 
gained great wealth at that time. He said : ‘ I my- 
self will seek the Land of Flowers. Who knows 
how much gold I may yet find in that country ? ’ 

The King of Spain was pleased. He said : 

^ Take a goodly number of men with you. Build 
forts in the country so as to hold it in my name.^ 

“ It was an easy matter for De Soto to gather 
a company; many young knights and brave warri- 
ors were only too glad to go. Banners were flying 
and cannon were booming as the ships sailed out 
into the west. In course of time they reached 
Florida. 

“ ' We will travel about through the country,’ 
De Soto said to his friends. ‘ We will search for 
the gold mines. I am sure we shall find them.’ 

The party started out. Month after month 
they traveled; year after year passed. De Soto, 
with his knights and soldiers and priests, still wan- 
dered on through dark forests and sickly marshes. 
They crossed rivers where alligators raised their 
ugly heads to look at the strange white men. They 



DE SOTO LANDING IN FLORIDA 





OLD COLONY DAYS 


79 


visited Indian villages where the savages at first 
gave them glad welcome. Afterward, when the 
Spaniards had returned their kindness with cruel 
deeds, they were ready to pay back their wrongs. 

“ It is a long story of hardship, sickness and 
death. De Soto discovered and crossed the Missis- 
sippi River. He wandered many hundreds of miles 
beyond that, and when he and his men came to the 
Hot Springs of Arkansas, they thought they had 
discovered the Fountain of Youth. 

When they reached the Mississippi again, many 
of his men had died of fever or been killed by the 
Indians. De Soto had found no gold, nor had he 
discovered the short way of reaching India, which 
he hoped to. 

He became sick and hopeless. Death soon took 
the brave but cruel Spaniard. Those who were 
left of the company, once so gay and happy, wan- 
dered about with sad hearts. At last they sailed 
down the Mississippi in such rough boats as they 
could make for themselves. They managed to reach 
Mexico, and told their story to Spaniards already 
settled there. 

It was because of what De Soto had done, as 
well as the discoveries of Columbus and Ponce de 


8o 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


Leon, that the Spaniards claimed Florida,'' Uncle 
Sam told the children. 

‘‘ Not Florida as we know it," he continued. 

O no ! The Spaniards meant by that one word 
all the land reaching from the Atlantic Ocean to 
the Mississippi, — yes, even beyond that great river, 
— and it stretched north from the Gulf of Mexico 
to the Arctic seas." 

“ They weren't stingy to themselves, if they were 
to other people," said Joe, laughing. 

Other people in Spain were not frightened be- 
cause De Soto did not succeed. One party after 
another followed him, and tried to settle in Florida. 
Each one failed. 

And still the people of Europe thought : 
‘ America is a land of wonders. It is rich in gold 
and is beautiful with rare plants. A short way to 
India will yet be found there.' 

“ Many people in France were unhappy at this 
time, for bitter war was raging. It was because 
some of the people had heard the teachings of Lu- 
ther and Calvin. They said : AVe cannot believe 
any longer as we have believed.' Most Frenchmen 
held to the old belief. War and bloodshed between 
the two parties followed. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


8i 


‘‘The Protestants, or, as they were called in 
France, the Huguenots, looked toward the west. 
They thought : ‘ Oh, for a home in America ! 

There we can be free to believe as we like.’ 

“ Two ships were fitted out. They were so 
clumsy that they looked like big tubs with sails. 
Sailors, soldiers, and nobles made up the party; 
they crossed the ocean safely and reached the coast 
of Florida. 

“ They landed at the mouth of a river. Kneeling 
on the ground, they thanked God for bringing them 
so far in safety. 

“ ‘ These white men worship the sun,’ said the 
Indians who watched them. The savages had 
decked themselves in their best paint and feathers 
to meet the visitors. They strewed the earth with 
branches of laurel trees, and sat down with the 
white men. 

“ It was May Day and the land was full of beau- 
ty. The tired travelers looked with delight on the 
magnolias and palm trees; they watched the deer 
feeding on the grass near by; they noticed strange 
water-birds wading in the shallow water of the 
beach. 

“ ‘ See that wonderful pearl hanging from the 


82 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


chief’s neck/ one of them whispered. ' It is as big 
as an acorn.’ 

'' ‘ I believe the land is rich in gold and precious 
stones/ said another. 

“ ^ We will set up a stone pillar with the arms of 
France carved upon it/ said Ribaut, the leader of 
the party. 

“ When this was done, the white men once more 
entered their ships and sailed farther north along 
the shores of the country. They were pleased with 
everything they saw. After a few days, they land- 
ed again and found the woods full of wild turkeys, 
deer, and other game. 

‘ Let us stay here and make it our home,’ begged 
some of the party. 

“ Ribaut had not meant to remain in Florida. 
He had left France with the thought, ‘ I will go and 
find a good place where others may come after- 
ward.’ Yet the men were so eager to stay that it 
was hard work to choose who should go, and who 
should be left behind. 

After a while thirty were chosen to make a set- 
tlement; the rest of the party went on board the 
ships, and sailed away to tell their friends in France 
about beautiful Florida. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


83 


‘ We must finish building the fort we have be- 
gun/ said the men who were left. ‘ Then we can 
defend ourselves.’ 

Ribaut had said to them : ‘ Be gentle with the 
red men. Treat them kindly. Make them your 
friends.’ 

“ They were very careful to do this, and were 
soon living among the Indians as if they were all 
brothers. They went visiting from village to vil- 
lage, and the savages shared with them everything 
they had. 

One day they entered a village when the squaws 
were getting a great feast ready. It was a very 
solemn feast and had to do with the religion of the 
Indians. 

The red chief bade the white men welcome ; 
but when they began to laugh at the odd proces- 
sion of the medicine men, and the paint and feathers 
of the warriors, the chief was angry. He said to 
his men : ‘ Shut the visitors up in my wigwam. 
They only laugh at things that are sacred to us. 
They must not see what we do.’ 

‘‘ When the feast was over, the white men were 
set free. They went back to their fort, but they 


84 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


soon began to suffer, for they did not have enough 
to eat. 

‘‘After they had built thdr fort, they should 
have made gardens, but they were not used to hard 
work. They thought : ‘We will get enough food 
from the Indians. When we are not feasting, we 
will spend our time looking for gold.’ 

“ Alas ! even in Florida the Indians did not al- 
ways feast. Sometimes they had to go hungry; 
then there was no food for the white men who had 
settled among them. 

“ Worse still, there was quarreling among the 
Frenchmen. One of the soldiers in the party ruled 
over the others very cruelly, and no one dared to 
disobey him. 

“ ‘ Let us kill him,’ one of them whispered to the 
others. ‘ It must be done if we are to have any 
comfort,’ they all agreed. 

“ The deed was done and another man was chosen 
to be the leader. There was peace now; yet the 
men were not satisfied. They longed for their 
friends across the water and home so far away! 
The great ocean rolled between them and France, 
and they had no ship. 

“ ‘ I cannot stay here any longer ! ’ cried one. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


85 


‘ Let us build a ship ! ’ cried another. 

‘ Yes, Ribaut left us a forge and tools,’ said a 
third. 

“ They set to work cutting down the trees with 
a will. If they had only worked as hard in making 
homes and gardens, they would never have suffered 
for food and been so unhappy. 

It was such an odd ship. Long gray moss 
hanging from the trees near by was used to calk 
the seams. Pitch was obtained from the pines. 
The Indian women made stout cords to take the 
place of ropes. 

‘‘ ‘ What can we use for sails ? ’ was the next 
question. It was soon answered. The men’s shirts 
and the bedding were brought out. These were 
roughly sewed together and fastened to the mast. 

Such an odd ship, indeed ! But no one thought 
of laughing. ‘ Home ! home to France ! ’ was the 
only thought. ‘ Florida is no longer beautiful to 
us. Let us get away from it as soon as we can.’ 

“ They said good-by to the red men, spread 
their patchwork sail to the wind, and soon left 
Florida behind them. 

For days the wind was fair and they made 
good speed. Then the breeze died away ; the waters 


86 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


became smooth as glass ; the boat floated idly about. 
When they began the voyage their supplies were 
small. Alas ! the time would soon come when noth- 
ing would be left. 

“ ‘ We can each have twelve grains of maize a 
day/ the leader said, when he looked at the stores 
during the calm. But before long the maize was 
all eaten. They now ate the leather of their shoes 
and jackets. By this time their water was all gone, 
too. Not a drop was left. They were dying of 
thirst, yet water, — the salt water of the ocean, — 
was all around them. Some drank of it, only to 
suffer more than before. 

Many of them were now ill ; some died.” 

Uncle Sam stopped when he had got thus far in 
his story. 

‘‘ I cannot tell all that those poor men suffered,” 
he said. ‘‘ But the wind sprang up at last ; it rose 
to a gale; the boat was tossed about by the angry 
waves, and the men thought that each moment 
would be the last. 

‘‘ The gale went down at length ; land came in 
sight; an English vessel drew near and took the 
poor starving men on board. 

All this happened,” Uncle Sam continued, 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


87 


long years before the Pilgrims came to Plymouth. 
It was even long before John Smith reached Vir- 
ginia. 

I will go on now and tell of other Frenchmen 
who settled in Florida and of their troubles with 
the Spaniards.” 


CHAPTER VII 


THE CRUEL SPANIARDS 

HE story of the sad home-coming had been 
X told in France. 

“ ' We are not afraid to seek a home in Florida/ 
said some of those who listened to the tale. They 
were Huguenots who had been suffering from 
frightful war on account of their faith. They 
longed for peace and freedom; they also hoped to 
find gold, and to gain great riches. They did not 
fear being a small number in a strange land. 

“ A party was soon ready to start ; with bold 
hearts they made their way to Florida. They 
landed at the very place where the first settlers had 
set up the stone pillar with the arms of France 
carved on it. 

“ ‘ They are the brethren of the sun,’ said the 
Indian chief when he saw the Frenchmen. ‘ They 
have come from the skies to help me against my 
enemies.’ 

The red men marched down to the shore to 
88 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


89 


welcome their visitors. They led the way to the 
stone pillar. There were offerings of maize on the 
ground before it. It was crowned with evergreens. 
The savages had done this in honor of the French- 
men who had visited them two years before. 

“ ‘ Truly it is a beautiful place for a home/ 
thought the latest comers, as they looked around at 
the lovely groves. There were streams of fresh 
water near by, and deer were plentiful in the for- 
ests. 

“ ‘ People live longer here than in other parts of 
the world,’ one of them told the others. ‘ In a vil- 
lage near by I have just seen an old chief who says 
he is two hundred and fifty years old.’ 

This was good news to the men, who set mer- 
rily to work. 

“ The land was marked out and a fort was be- 
gun; buildings were soon started. There must be 
a large house on the bank of the river for the leader. 
There must be storehouses for grain and other sup- 
plies. 

‘‘ ‘ I do not like it,’ thought the Indian chief who 
had met the Frenchmen so kindly. ‘ I do not like 
it.’ There was an ugly scowl on his face. He got 
his warriors together and marched towards the 


90 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


place where the white men were working. 

“ ‘ We must not fight with the savages; we must 
keep peace with them by all means/ said their leader. 

He went to meet the Indians to hold a council 
with them. Before it was over, the French had 
promised to help the chief in his wars against other 
tribes; on the other hand, the savages promised to 
be kind to the white men. Then the council came 
to an end. 

“ For a time everything went well with the set- 
tlers; then trouble began. In the first place it was 
with the Indians. Afterwards the white men them- 
selves began to quarrel and find fault with their 
leader. 

“ ‘ Why did we ever come to this lonesome 
place?' they thought. ‘There is no gold; there is 
no pleasure; there is no excitement, — unless one 
calls it excitement to see alligators stretching out 
their ugly mouths above the water, or Indians pass- 
ing by in their canoes.' 

“ Food became scarce; it was not easy to buy it 
from the unfriendly Indians, and the Frenchmen 
had not planted gardens of their own. Many of 
them got a fever from living in the hot, damp air 
near the river. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


91 


‘ Oh, to look upon our own dear France once 
more ! ’ they cried. 

“ One day a sight met their eyes that filled them 
with joy. 

‘ A sail ! a sail ! ’ they shouted. 

“ A ship was indeed drawing near, — not only 
one, but two, three, four! 

‘‘ The men laughed aloud at the sight. But sup- 
pose these were not friends who were nearing the 
shores! They might be Spaniards, who were Cath- 
olics and enemies to all heretics, as they called the 
Huguenots. 

“ But there was really no need for fear. They 
soon found that the ships were sailed by some great 
English captains. 

‘‘ ‘ We want to leave Florida,’ the Frenchmen 
told them. ‘ We are homesick and starving.’ . 

“ ‘ You may have one of my ships,’ said the Eng- 
lish commander. ‘You can then go home as soon 
as you like.’ 

“ He gave the Frenchmen wine and food from 
his own stores, and then set sail for England. 

“ Everyone was busy getting ready to leave, 
when more ships were seen. This time they were 
the long-looked- for French ships. Ribaut was the 


92 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


captain. He had supplies for the men he had left 
behind him more than a year before. He also 
brought three hundred people to settle in Florida. 

“ How happy the Frenchmen were now ! They 
hurried to make Ribaut and their other friends 
welcome. It was a time of gladness. 

“ In the midst of their joy, something happened 
to take away all their pleasure. Other ships were 
‘drawing near, — the dreaded ships of Spain. The 
Spaniards were on their way to seize Florida and 
drive out all heretics. 

They came sailing into the harbor ; they drew 
near the French ships. It was almost midnight 
when they cast anchor and their trumpeter blew a 
deep blast. The French trumpeter made answer. 

Then Menendez, the Spanish general, asked 
why these French ships had come. 

‘ To bring soldiers and supplies to the fort,’ 
was the answer. ‘ And why are you here ? ’ 

“ ‘ To hang and behead all who believe as you 
do,’ Menendez replied. ‘ At daybreak I shall board 
your ships.’ 

“ Hf you are a brave man, don’t wait till day. 
Come on now and see what you will get,’ cried the 
French. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


93 


They spoke bravely, but they were no match for 
Menendez and his guns. They must flee to save 
themselves. They cut their cables and spread their 
sails. Then away they went out to sea, with the 
Spanish ships after them. 

So the night passed. When morning came 
Menendez said : ‘We will give up the chase, and 
go back to attack the French fort.’ 

“ Ribaut and his soldiers were ready to meet 
him; they were already drawn up on the beach to 
receive the attack. 

“ ‘ Not yet, not yet,’ said Menendez, when he saw 
them. 

“ He sailed south along the shore until he came 
to a quiet inlet where one of his ships had already 
anchored. He thought it a good place. 

“ His soldiers seized the home of an Indian 
chief, a large, strong building. Whole trunks of 
trees had been used in making it. It could be 
easily defended when trenches had been dug around 
it. 

“ Bands of negro slaves were set to work on a 
fort. This was the beginning of St. Augustine, 
the oldest town in the United States. 

“ In the meantime, the people at the French fort 


94 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


were not idle; they made the place as strong as 
possible. After their ships had been chased by the 
Spaniards, they came back and brought the news 
that the Spaniards had landed and were building a 
fort. 

‘ We had better attack them by sea before they 
finish the work,’ said Ribaut. 

“ There was no time to lose. The ships were 
made ready and the French commander sailed away 
with his sailors and soldiers. When Menendez 
saw them coming, he was surprised. He was not 
ready to meet the attack and his men were fright- 
ened. They quickly got over their fright as they 
looked seaward. 

‘ See the waves ! ’ they cried. ‘ The wind is 
rising. The ships can do us no harm in such a 
sea as that.’ 

“ ‘ It is true,’ declared Menendez. ‘ I know what 
to do. I will march in haste to the French fort 
while the storm is raging and Ribaut cannot get 
back. I will seize the fort while the soldiers are 
away.’ 

Ht is a terrible risk ! ’ thought his company, 
but they did not dare disobey. In two days the 
Spaniards had reached the fort. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


95 


‘ Santiago ! at them ! God is with us ! victory ! ^ 
shouted their leader. 

With such fierce cries they rushed down upon 
the doomed people:. It was too late to escape. 
The cruel Spaniards showed no mercy. Sick peo- 
ple and well, men, women, and children were cut 
down by the swords of their enemies. It makes 
one shudder only to think of what was done that 
day. 

‘ We have now a great prize,’ said the Span- 
iards when they had finished the dreadful deed. 
‘ Armor, clothing, food, and cannon, are all ours.’ 

They loaded the cannon and turned them upon 
some French ships that had not gone with Ribaut. 
These, too, must be destroyed. The victory over 
the heretics they hated must be a sure one. 

“ The news of the butchery was carried across 
the ocean. Spain was filled with joy, but in France 
a cry of fierce anger was heard. 

‘ I will pay the Spaniards for what they have 
done,’ said a brave soldier. ^ They have brought 
shame upon us and the stain must be wiped out.’ 
But he told no one how he planned to do it. 

He got together all the money he could, and 
fitted out three small ships. Then, with a company 


96 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


of soldiers and sailors, he set sail. When he had 
almost reached Florida, he gathered his men around 
him. He made a word-picture of the cruel deeds 
of Spain; he told the story of the French fort and 
the murder of the helpless people; he spoke of the 
glory his men would win if they paid back the 
Spaniards. Then he cried : ‘ Will you refuse to 
follow me? ’ 

“ His words stirred their hearts. They were 
ready, and even eager, for the attack. 

The next morning they reached land. The 
Indians came trooping around them. 

‘ We are your friends. We have come to visit 
you and make you presents,’ said the visitors. 

How glad the Indians were ! They danced 
about the Frenchmen in delight. 

‘‘ ‘ Let us have a great council,’ said the old chief. 
He sent messengers far and wide to call his people 
together. The next morning the woods were filled 
with warriors. 

When everyone had taken his place the old 
chief rose and began to speak. He was very much 
excited as he told what had happened to his people 
since the coming of the Spaniards. He said : ‘We 
have not had one happy day. The Spaniards have 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


97 


driven my people from their homes; they have 
stolen our corn; they have killed our children.’ 

^ We will help you/ answered the brave leader 
of the Frenchmen. ‘ We will join you against the 
Spaniards; but if we go, it must be at once. We 
must take them by surprise.’ 

“No time was lost in getting ready. Then 
Frenchmen and Indians started out on their dan- 
gerous errand. They made their way through 
thick forests and heavy brush. There was no rest 
for tired bodies. ‘ Onward to victory,’ was the 
only thought. 

“ And now the foi ts and the hated Spaniards 
were in sight. 

“It was morning when a sharp cry rang out: 
‘To arms! To arms! The French are coming! 
The French are coming ! ’ 

“ It was too late for the Spaniards to defend 
themselves. They did their best, but they were 
cut down as they had cut down the Frenchmen be- 
fore. 

“ ‘ There are the very trees from which so many 
of your people were hanged,’ the Indians told their 
white friends. 

“ ‘ There, then, we will hang our prisoners,’ was 


98 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


the answer. ‘ And we will burn into the wood 
above them these words, ‘ Not as to Spaniards, but 
as to Traitors, Robbers, and Murderers ! ’ 

Thus was the cruel wrong paid back. When 
the work was ended, the Frenchmen made their 
way back to their ships. It was a march of tri- 
umph. The Indians surrounded them with pres- 
ents of fish and game. One old squaw said : ‘ Now 
I am ready to die, for I have seen the French once 
more.’ 

“ ‘ Good-by. We will come again soon,’ the 
Frenchmen promised the Indians, and then they 
sailed away. They had done all they had hoped 
for, and they were satisfied.” 

''What happened to the Spaniards after that?” 
asked Joe, as Uncle Sam stopped speaking. 

" They lived in Florida for hundreds of years 
afterward,” was the answer. " But they did not 
settle the country as the white men did in other 
parts of America. They kept bands of soldiers 
to hold the country, and they built strong forts and 
castles, but they did not plant large gardens, and 
cut down the forests, and make settled homes. In- 
dians and negroes did the work, and they suffered 
a great deal from their cruel masters. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


99 


“ Although the oldest town in the United States 
is St. Augustine, I was in no hurry to tell you about 
the life of the Spaniards here,” Uncle Sam went 
on. “ You see they did not have much to do with 
the real settling of America. They didn’t belong 
in this free country, anyway.” 

The old man looked very stern as he said these 
words. Indeed, I can tell nothing that is good 
about the Spaniards in Florida. They treated the 
Indians cruelly, and were ready to fight with every- 
body else. Do you remember James Oglethorpe? ” 
“ Yes, indeed,” answered both children. 

“ Oglethorpe was the man who brought the poor 
debtors from England,” Joe continued. 

And they settled in Georgia,” added Lucy. 

‘‘ Even Oglethorpe, peaceful as he was, had trou- 
ble with the Spaniards in Florida,” said Uncle Sam, 
‘‘ He had to attack them twice before they made 
peace with him.” Uncle Sam was thoughtful for 
a moment. Then he said : 

Let us thank the dear Lord, children, that the 
Spanish rule does not now hold over a single foot 
of the Western Hemisphere. It came to an end 
almost in the exact spot where it began four hun- 
dred years before ! ” 

Of C, 


CHAPTER VIII 


NEW FRANCE 

CC O EE that squirrel, Uncle Sam. Isn’t he a big 
fellow ? He must have just waked up from 
his winter’s sleep.” 

It was an early spring morning and the sun shone 
bright and clear. Uncle Sam had gone into the 
country with the children for wild flowers. By 
the time their hands were full of violets, they were 
quite tired. As Joe spoke, they had just sat down 
on a rock to rest in the sunshine. 

Yes, I see him, Joe. He is a beauty.” 

What a nice collar his fur would make ! It 
would be a shame to kill him, though. There, he 
is gone out of sight,” and Lucy drew a long breath 
as if she feared Joe might harm him. 

Uncle Sam settled himself against the tree be- 
hind them as he said : ‘‘ The early Erench settlers 
found great numbers of squirrels in the woods. 
There were many other animals covered with fur, 
too, — martens and beavers, minks and foxes.” 

TOO 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


lOI 


These are rich furs, indeed,' they said to each 
other. ‘ We will treat the Indians kindly. We 
will buy furs from their hunters and get rich in a 
short time.' 

This was the reason that, after they left Florida, 
many of them went to Canada, and set up trading 
posts along the St. Lawrence River. Cartier had 
discovered the river long before the Spaniards set- 
tled in Florida. It seemed to him a land of won- 
der through which it flowed. As he sailed up the 
great river, he noticed the wild grape vines hanging 
from the trees on the banks ; he watched the water 
fowls playing on the shores; he listened with de- 
light to the songs of the blackbirds and thrushes. 

The Indians came dancing about the white men, 
bringing gifts of fish and maize. They told stories 
of wonderful things yet to be seen. Not far away 
was a land of gold and rubies! Strange beings 
who lived without food, and others, born with only 
one leg, were among the wonders of the country. 

Cartier stayed long enough to find that the 
summer was very short, while the winter was long 
and very cold. He did not see any of the wonders 
of which the Indians had told him. He believed 
they were yet to be found, however, and sailed back 


102 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


to France to tell what he had seen and heard. 

“ A few years after that, Cartier came again to 
Canada and sailed a few miles up the St. Lawrence 
River. Then the anchor was cast and he and his 
men went on shore. 

“ ‘ Diamonds ! diamonds ! ’ he exclaimed as he 
picked up some sparkling stones at his feet. Alas! 
they were only bits of shining quartz. 

“ Later on he was walking along a ledge of stone. 
Suddenly he saw yellow gleams in the rock. 

“ ‘ It is gold ! gold ! ’ he cried. ‘ The Indians 
have told me truly. There are great riches to be 
found here yet.’ 

He was very happy. His men set to work to 
make a home on the banks of the river; they built 
two forts; they cleared away the trees and planted 
turnip seed; they marked out a road. 

All went well for a time. Then trouble came. 
Perhaps it was sickness among the men; perhaps 
the Indians were not friendly; perhaps it was the 
longing for home and friends. At any rate, when 
autumn came, Cartier and his party entered their 
ships and bade good-by to New France, as the 
country was then called. 

From time to time other Frenchmen came to 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


103 


fish along- the shores or to buy furs from the In- 
dians, but they did not settle there. 

‘‘ More than sixty years passed by before the 
king said : ^ It would be a wise thing to send set- 
tlers to New France; I cannot hold the country 
unless I do so.' 

‘‘The French merchants were glad, and said: 
‘ Yes, traders should settle in different parts of the 
land across the ocean. Then they can buy great 
quantities of furs from the Indians. It will be a 
good thing for them and us.' 

“ A colony soon went over to Canada. They 
sailed into a beautiful harbor. Looking around at 
the green fields, with the mountains beyond, they 
said : ‘ This shall be our home. We will call the 
place Port Royal.' 

“ ‘ We must work hard for there is much to do,' 
said the leaders of the party. ‘ We must get ready 
for the winter.' 

“ Rich and poor, nobles and common workmen, 
were soon busy. There must be a fort, of course, 
and there must be houses to live in and a little 
chapel, a garden and a grave-yard. 

“ There were two men in the party of whom 
there is much to tell. One of these was the brave 


104 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


explorer, Champlain, who had already visited other 
parts of the continent. He had been as far south 
as the isthmus that joins North and South America; 
and when he looked at it he had said : ‘ There 

should be a canal through that isthmus; then ships 
could pass through from one ocean to the other/ 

“ Those very words millions of people are saying 
to-day. ' A canal should be built through the isth- 
mus.' This is why thousands of workmen are now 
busy digging the canal Champlain talked about so 
long ago. 

“ Another great man in the colony was Poutrin- 
court. He was so bright and cheerful, no one 
could be sad while he was near. But he could not 
stay long with the settlers, for he had business in 
France, and he had to leave them before winter 
set in. 

“ The cold days came. The river froze into a 
solid sheet of ice; the snow fell in great drifts 
around the houses. Even the wine, brought from 
home, was frozen ; when it was given to the men it 
was served by the pound. 

‘‘Sunny, beautiful France! How the settlers 
longed for it as they shivered and gathered closer 
around the fires. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


105 


But the winter came to an end at last, and 
Poutrincourt returned with a large company. 
Among them was a dear friend who was as brave 
and gay-hearted as himself. This friend was a 
maker of verses, and always ready with a lively 
story or a funny saying. 

“ How different was the second winter in New 
France. Poutrincourt said : ‘We must cheer each 
other so that no one shall get homesick.’ And 
Champlain said : ‘ Let us form ourselves into a new 
order, the “ Order of Good Times.” ’ 

“ ‘ A happy thought ! ’ cried his friends. 

“ Each of the gentlemen was Grand Master in 
turn. He served for one day only ; it was his duty 
to see that a goodly feast was served on that day. 
He went hunting, fishing, and trading with the 
Indians for some time beforehand. He was eager 
to make his day the best one of the season. 

“ But the feast was not all that he made ready ; 
he must prepare entertainment, — songs, stories, 
and games. 

“ When the noon hour struck, the Grand Master 
entered the dining-hall with a napkin on his shoul- 
der and a big velvet collar about his neck. His 
friends followed in order, each one bearing a dish 


io6 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


in his hands. 

“ Then came the visitors of honor; friendly Indian 
chiefs, who took their places at the table of the 
white men. Warriors, squaws, and children came 
last, and sat down on the floor and in the corners 
of the great hall. They laughed with delight when 
pieces of biscuit and other dainties were thrown to 
them from the feasters. 

When night came, great logs were heaped on 
the fires. Then the gay company seated themselves 
around the fireplaces to tell stories and sing songs. 
Bedtime drew near at last, and the Grand Master 
took off his collar and handed it to the one who 
was to take his place next day. 

Thus the winter passed with fun and feasting ; 
no one had time to long for the home across the 
ocean. 

The spring had come, and the grain was al- 
ready pushing its way through the earth, when a 
sail appeared. It was a French ship bringing bad 
news to the brave settlers. 

“ ‘ You must return to France,’ they were told, 
‘ for so the king commands.’ 

All felt sad. They bade good-by to the rough 
homes they had made, the gardens, and the corn- 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


107 


fields they had planted, the red men who had been 
such good friends, and who now crowded around 
them with sad faces. 

“ ‘ Good-by to Port Royal ! Good-by, good-by ! ’ 
they cried, and sailed away into the east. 

“ When Poutrincourt reached France, he told the 
king about the home across the ocean. He de- 
scribed the Indian hunters, and the rich furs that 
could be bought for beads and hatchets. The red 
men were friendly and the land was rich. 

“ ‘ I have made a mistake,’ thought the king as 
he listened. So he let Poutrincourt get a second 
colony ready to go back to Port Royal. 

“ The Indians were very glad when they saw the 
white men again. They had not harmed the fort, 
nor anything else the Frenchmen had left behind. 

^ Our white friends will help us against our 
enemies,’ the red men said to each other. ^ It is 
good that they have returned to us.’ 

A priest had come with the settlers. He was 
so kind and gentle that the savages loved him. 
They listened to his teachings, and many of them 
became Christians. The chief himself was one of 
these. 

‘‘ From this time Frenchmen continued to live 


io8 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


at Port Royal, and the colony grew slowly but 
surely. 

Where was the brave Champlain all this time ? 
Not idle, you may be sure. He traveled from one 
part of the country to another, for he thought : ‘ I 
must learn all I can about this kingdom of New 
France.’ 

“ He sailed up the St. Lawrence River, and no- 
ticed the many streams flowing into its waters. 
He visited Indian villages and saw the loads of bear, 
and fox skins the hunters brought home from the 
hunt. 

‘‘ He said : ‘We Frenchmen must build forts 
along this great river; then we can keep the trade 
with the Indians. No other white men must have 
a chance to buy their furs.’ 

“ ‘ I believe this river will yet show us a short 
way of reaching China and India,’ he thought. 

‘ If that be so, what a great thing it will be for 
France! Yes, I will build up a great kingdom on 
this side of the ocean, and it shall grow rich and 
powerful. As for these poor savages, they shall 
be taught by our priests; they shall give up their 
foolish belief, and shall be baptized by the holy 
water of the Church.’ 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


109 


“ During his travels, Champlain came to a place 
where high cliffs rose behind the St. Lawrence. 

“ ' It is the best place possible for a fort ! ’ he 
exclaimed. ‘ No enemies could climb those steep 
walls of rock if cannons guarded the place; neither 
could they pass up the river in safety if a fort stood 
on that cliff.’ 

“ Workmen were soon busy ; the sound of the axe 
and the sledge-hammer rang through the woods. 
It was the beginning of Quebec, the strong fortress 
and city. 

^ We must have houses to live in,’ said Cham- 
plain. There must be a strong wooden wall with 
a gallery above, from which we can shoot at our 
enemies. A garden, too, I must certainly have, be- 
sides a chapel where our Indian friends shall be free 
to worship with us.’ 

From the first the French treated the red men 
like brothers. They invited them to the feasts; 
they visited them in their homes; they took part in 
their games; they went with the savages on long 
winter hunts; they even married the Indian maid- 
ens. 

One morning Champlain was busy in his gar- 
den, when the pilot of his ship came to him. ‘ I 


no 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


have a secret to tell you/ said the man. ‘ No one 
must hear it but yourself.’ 

“ Champlain went into the woods with die pilot, 
and there heard of a plot against his own life. He 
himself was to be killed and Quebec was to be 
given into the hands of the Spaniards. No time 
could be lost. In a few moments he had made a 
plan by which to get the wicked plotters into his 
own hands. 

“ ‘ The leader must lose his life,’ Champlain said. 

‘ In no other way can Quebec be safe.’ 

“ Soon afterward the man’s body was hanging 
from the gibbet, and his head was stuck up on the 
highest roof as a warning to all wrong-doers. 

When the first winter was over, Champlain 
longed to start out once more on his travels. If 
only he could find a short way of reaching India! 
Perhaps he would discover it by going with the 
Indians on their war parties. Fighting was going 
on among them nearly all the time. If he joined 
a band of these red men on their way through the 
dark forests, who should tell what he might find! 

“ Only a short time before, a young Indian chief 
had come to Quebec. He lived on the shore of the 
Ottawa River. He had heard of the white men 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


III 


and their wonderful fort, and the thunder they could 
make with their strange weapons. 

“ Champlain kindly showed him around. He let 
the Indian see the cannon and the guns and ex- 
plained what they could do. The chief was filled 
with wonder. He thought : ^ These white men are 
greater than I dreamed. If they would join me 
in a war party, I could overcome even the powerful 
warriors of the Five Nations.’ 

“ He said to Champlain : ‘ When the spring 

comes, will you go with me to fight against my 
enemies in the south ? ’ 

The brave Frenchman thought a good deal 
about what the young chief said. He did not know 
how strong the tribes of the Five Nations were and 
that no other Indians had yet been able to over- 
come them. They were wiser than most of their 
race; they lived in long houses made of bark; they 
planted gardens and had orchards; they put by 
stores of food for winter use; they were very brave 
in battle; their war parties often traveled a great 
distance to take other tribes by surprise. 

But, as I said, Champlain did not know this. 
He thought that the Five Nations were no greater 
than the Indians he knew. So, after thinking it 


II2 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


over, he said: ‘ Yes, I will join your war party.’ 

“ Not long afterward there was a great war 
dance of the Indians at Quebec. The white men 
had never seen anything like it before. Warriors, 
decked with paint and feathers, danced about a 
blazing fire. With their stone war clubs and 
hatchets they went through all the motions of war. 
They twisted their faces into hideous shapes and 
filled the air with awful yells. 

How glad Champlain must have been when 
the dance was over, and the Indians said they were 
ready to start. 

“ The water was soon alive with canoes as the 
party made its way up the river. And now they 
came to some rapids. No boat was safe in such a 
current. The men landed, lifted the canoes to 
their shoulders, and made their way through the 
forest. 

Again they took to the boats and paddled for 
many miles; then once more they landed. It was 
time to make a camp for the night and to hunt for 
game for the evening meal. 

“ A medicine man had come with the war party. 
A rough lodge was set up and he crept inside. 
Soon his listeners could hear low, mumbling tones 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


113 


within and the lodge rocked to and fro. 

' The medicine man is calling upon the Great 
Spirit for help/ Champlain was told. How he 
pitied the savages for their foolish belief ! 

‘‘ The next morning the camp was broken up, 
and the party went on its way. Many days and 
nights passed by in this manner. They had been 
traveling for weeks when they came in sight of a 
beautiful lake, whose waters were as clear as crys- 
tal and whose trees rose high along its shores. We 
call it to-day Lake Champlain, for the brave white 
man who first looked upon it. 

^ We are close upon the homes of our enemies,’ 
said the Indians. 

They did not have long to wait before some 
canoes came in sight. Now for the longed-for bat- 
tle! But it must not be on the water, for neither 
party wished that. 

‘ You shall lead us,’ Champlain’s red friends 
told him. He and two white men with him put 
on their armor, buckled on their swords, and held 
their guns ready to shoot. Then they made their 
way to the front. 

‘‘ What were these strange beings clad in steel ? 
The warriors of the Five Nations stood overcome 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


1 14 

at the sight; for a moment they did not move. 
Bang! sounded Champlain’s gun. One chief fell 
dead and another rolled over in the bushes. 

A moment afterwards arrows were flying thick 
and fast, and the woods rang with the yells of the 
savages. 

But the guns were not idle for a moment. 
What were those balls of lead that came whizzing 
over the heads of the enemy with a sound of thun- 
der? The men of the Five Nations could not tell. 
They were filled with terror and fled through the 
woods. For the first time in their lives they had 
been beaten in battle. 

“ This has been a long story,” said Uncle Sam 
as he got down from the rock. I hope you chil- 
dren haven’t got colds from sitting still so long out 
of doors.” 

No, indeed ! I’m as warm as — as — as toast.” 
Lucy laughed. 

“ Not cold toast, I hope, Lucy,” said Joe. “ But, 
Uncle Sam, I want to know what became of Cham- 
plain ; besides, I can’t help wondering why you 
have told us so much about Canada and the French- 
men there. Canada isn’t a part of the United 
States.” 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


115 

That is true, Joe. But if I failed to tell you 
about New France, as it was called at the time of 
Champlain, you couldn’t understand the troubles 
that afterward came to this country. 

“ First, about Champlain, the Father of New 
France, as he was called. He well deserved the 
name, for he devoted his life to it. While making 
one of his many daring trips through their country 
his first battle with the warriors of the Five Nations 
took place the very year that Hudson discovered 
the river named for him. 

“ Their home, you must know, was mostly in 
what is now the State of New York. Champlain 
discovered Lake Ontario. His life was in danger 
many times. He was sixty-eight years old when 
he died at the fort in Quebec, worn out by his hard 
work. 

“ And now about the Five Nations. It is true 
that their warriors fled before the guns of Cham- 
plain and his friends, but they learned afterward 
who these wonderful white beings were. They got 
over their fear of the thunder that they thought 
the Frenchmen brought down from heaven, and 
learned to use firearms themselves; but they hated 
the French forever after. 


ii6 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


'' As time passed, the French people in Canada 
had war with the English settlers in this country. 
Through all this war the Five Nations took the 
part of the English. They were the bitter enemies 
of all Frenchmen to the end.” 

“ Our violets are wilted,” said Lucy. “ We must 
hurry home to put them in water.” 

“ That was a good story,” declared Joe as they 
walked along. I like to hear about brave people, 
even if they are not Americans.” 

Good-by, little folks,” said Uncle Sam a few 
minutes afterward. Before long we will take 
another walk. Then you shall hear still more about 
the Frenchmen and their white neighbors.” 


CHAPTER IX 


THE FRENCH AND THE INDIANS 

uV^u know what you promised last week, 

1 Uncle Sam.” 

Yes, Joe, I know. It is a good time to keep 
the promise, too. We are all tired enough to rest, 
and as soon as Lucy is ready, I will tell you some 
more about the Indians.” 

Tm all ready now. Uncle Sam.” 

“ Very well, then. It is more than sixty years 
since Champlain did his great work. La Salle, 
another French explorer, is dead after making his 
dangerous trip down the Mississippi. 

‘ What a good time we could have,’ the French 
traders are saying, Uf we were not bothered by 
those fierce Iroquois.’ That is the name the French 
gave to the tribes that the English called the Five 
Nations. 

They were right in thinking so. 

The English and the Dutch made their homes 

117 


ii8 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


along the coast. A long range of mountains shut 
them off from the rest of the country. 

The French banner was planted along the St. 
Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi. 
The French could make their way in boats along 
these lakes and rivers and hold the power over all 
that country if — . What a small word it is! But 
it meant so much to the fur traders when they 
thought of the Five Nations and the hatred of those 
Indians. 

If only they could make friends with the Five 
Nations! All the other Indians were like brothers 
to them. They sold their furs in trade; they in- 
vited the Frenchmen to their feasts; many were 
even baptized and became Christians. 

But the warriors of the Five Nations would not 
think of making friends because Champlain, a 
Frenchman, had put their fathers to flight. 

“ Suppose these white men made them presents 
and spoke pleasant words; it made no difference. 
The French were never safe when they went from 
home. The warriors of the Five Nations were so 
bold that they suddenly appeared when least ex- 
pected. 

‘‘ They made war on distant tribes ; they seized 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


1 19 

the very furs that had been promised to the French; 
they were ruining the French trade. The King of 
France was told about the trouble. 

“ ‘ You must capture the Iroquois and send them 
to France/ he ordered. 

“ How easy it seemed at first ! All the friendly 
Indians in that part of the country were sent for. 
There, was a great council on the shore of Lake 
Ontario. ' Priests and soldiers stood side by side 
with Indian chiefs and warriors. 

It was a strange sight. There were the shining 
uniforms of France, the war paint and feathers of 
the Indians, and long buffalo robes of the warriors 
with the tails trailing on the ground. There were 
guns and swords, tomahawks and scalping knives, 
glistening in the burning sunlight. There were 
two thousand French and Indians in that com- 
pany. 

“ Before the day was over, a town of the Five 
Nations was in ashes. Many in the town were 
dead, and still more were wounded; but the others 
had no fear. 

“ Mf you overturn a wasp’s nest, you must kill 
the wasps or you will get stung,’ one of them said 


120 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


to the French governor. It was not long before he 
found it was only too true. 

“ The English governor in New York sent for 
the chiefs of the Five Nations. He said to them : 

‘ You ought to drive the French out of the west. 
You ought not to let their priests live among you. 
The English people will stand by you in all you 
do.^ 

“ They answered : ‘We will fight the French so 
long as we have a warrior left.’ 

“ He gave them some presents and they went 
away. For a long time afterward the French peo- 
ple in Canada had a great deal of trouble with them. 
Their Indian enemies took them by surprise again 
and again, killing and scalping men, women, and 
children. All the wasps had not been killed when 
the nest was overturned ! ” 

“What came next?” asked Joe. The story had 
been short and he was a little disappointed. 

“ The trouble with the Five Nations led into an- 
other war; it was between the French and the Eng- 
lish and was called King William’s War. I will 
tell you about it this evening, if you like.” 

“If there are more Indians in it. I’d rather you 
would wait till to-morrow afternoon,” said Lucy. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


I2I 


Fm afraid I shall dream about scalping and toma- 
hawks if I hear it just before bedtime.” 

There are Indians in it, my dear, so it shall be 
to-morrow, as you say. I shall get my work in 
the garden all done by four o’clock and be tired 
enough to rest and talk.” 


CHAPTER X 


KING william’s WAR 

((TTTHAT a deal of fighting there was in the 
V V early days, Uncle Sam.” 

“ Indeed there was, Joe. Only people who were 
brave and patient were able to stay here. Many 
of those died because of the hard life they led, or 
were killed by the Indians.” 

I’m more and more glad that I live now instead 
of then,” said Lucy. “ I really think I should have 
died of fright if I had heard one Indian warwhoop.” 
The little girl shuddered. ‘‘ And yet I want to 
hear about what they did long ago.” She settled 
herself in the little rocking-chair Uncle Sam kept 
for her use alone, to listen to the story that fol- 
lowed. 

Those were hard times for the children as well 
as for their parents, in the old days. King Philip’s 
war had been over only a short time when King 
William’s war began. Indians as well as white 
men took part in it. 


122 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


123 


There was trouble between France and England. 
King James 11. of England was a tyrant. He be- 
lieved that kings should rule as they pleased, and 
that their subjects had few rights. When the Eng- 
lish people could bear no more, they rose against 
this bad king and forced him to flee from the coun- 
try. The French king offered James a home, be- 
cause they both were Catholics. 

William, Prince of Orange, was the son-in-law 
of James. Come and rule over us,” the English 
people said to him, and William accepted the invita- 
tion. 

War began at once between France and England. 
The French and English settlers in this country 
took it up. 

The English said : “ The French people spoil our 
fur trade; besides that, they have valuable fisheries 
along the shores of New France. We would like 
to have those fisheries ourselves. 

“ Then, again, we Protestants do not like the 
Catholic priests. The French send them around 
through the country to get the Indians to believe 
as they do. We wish with all our hearts that we 
could drive the French out of the land altogether.” 

On the other hand, the French people hated the 


124 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


English for not being Catholics. They said to each 
other : “ The warriors of the Five Nations would 
not be so savage toward us if they were not stirred 
up by the English.’' 

The French governor saw he must work boldly. 
“I will strike three blows at the same time,”. he 
thought. “ One shall be in New York, the second 
shall be in New Hampshire, the third shall be in 
Maine.” 

It was in the middle of winter when a party of 
French and Indians started out from Montreal. 
They wore snow shoes and carried their food on 
sleds. Mile after mile they skimmed along over 
the snow till Lake Champlain came in sight. It 
was a sheet of ice, so it was easy work to cross its 
entire length. Then onward they moved through 
the woods till they were close to the town of Sche- 
nectady. The night was bitter cold. 

No harm can come to us,” thought the people 
in the town. Our enemies are far away in Can- 
ada. Still, we will place guards at the gates.” 
They laughed as they set up two snow men. Then 
they went to bed to dream sweet dreams. 

Nearer, and yet nearer, came the enemy. Sud- 
denly the dreadful warwhoop rang through the 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


125 


night air ; there was a bursting in of doors, a sound 
of rushing feet. • ^ 

Too late the settlers sprang from their beds to 
meet painted faces and lifted tomahawks. Yes, 
they were indeed too late. 

Out into the driving storm women and children 
fled in their thin night clothes; their bare feet were 
numbed by the snow and ice. But what of that! 
Death at the hands of their cruel enemies was wait- 
ing for them at every turn. 

The morning sun looked down upon a pitiful 
sight. The houses were burned to the ground ; the 
bodies of the dead lay scattered over the snow. 
The Frenchmen with their Indian helpers were al- 
ready far away with twenty-seven prisoners. 

The governor of New France was greatly pleased 
at the news. He wrote to the King of France: 
“ You cannot believe the joy that this slight success 
has caused.^’ 

There were other sudden and secret attacks like 
the first one. Everywhere horrible deeds were 
done; everywhere men, women, children, and even 
little babies, were made to suffer and die dreadful 
deaths. 

There is one story of a brave boy that every child 


126 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


in America should know, for he was a hero. His 
name was Isaac Bradley and he was fifteen years 
old. He and his friend Joseph Whittaker were 
working one day in a field when some Indians 
suddenly sprang out of the woods near by and seized 
them. They were carried to the camp of the sav- 
ages on Lake Winnipesaukee. 

Isaac was small for his age, but he was very 
brave. His bright eyes watched everything and 
he listened to every sound he heard. In a little 
while he could understand some of the Indian words. 
Then he heard them say: “We shall go to Canada 
as soon as the spring comes.” 

Isaac knew what that meant. He and his friend 
would be given up to the French. “ I will not go 
if I can help it,” he thought. 

What could he do when he was so carefully 
watched by the savages ? He knew that home was 
somewhere to the south of him, but there was no 
road or path. 

“ The sun will help us in the daytime and the 
stars will guide us at night,” said the boy. 

“We must take food with us, or we may starve,” 
he told Joseph. 

He managed to take some flesh from a moose 



ISAAC BRADLEY SURPRISED BY THE INDIANS 








OLD COLONY DAYS 


127 


that the Indians had just killed, and to hide it in 
the bushes. Night came and Isaac lay down to 
rest with the others. Joseph was soon sleeping 
heavily, and so also were the Indians. 

It was hard work for Isaac to wake his friend 
without rousing the others, but it was done, and 
the two crept softly about, filling their pockets with 
bread, and getting the moose meat which had been 
hidden in the bushes. They were also thoughtful 
enough to take one of the Indian guns and some 
powder. 

Then away they fled through the woods. The 
stars were their only guides through the wild coun- 
try. They traveled hour after hour without stop- 
ping, for they must get as far from the camp as 
they could before morning came. 

As the stars faded from sight and the sun rose 
in the east, the boys found a hollow log. It was 
a good hiding-place and they crept inside. 

Already the Indians had waked up. The boys 
were gone! A gun was missing! The savages 
were very angry. They called the dogs and started 
on the run after the boys. Following the scent, 
they drew near the hiding-place. The dogs came 
first and began to sniff and bark. 


128 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


Quick as thought, Isaac called softly : “ Good 

Bose, good fellow, here,” and he threw some meat 
out. The dogs knew him and were pleased; they 
swallowed the meat and went away. What a nar- 
row escape it was! 

And now the Indians were close by. They did 
not notice anything strange, and passed on. The 
boys listened eagerly. They must know in what 
direction the savages went so as not to go the same 
way themselves. 

All day long they lay hidden in the log; when 
night came they started out once more. They kept 
up their strength by nibbling at the bread they still 
had. The next day they hid themselves and rested 
as before. They dared not make a fire and cook 
the meat for fear someone might discover them. 

In this way they kept on their journey, ever to 
the south, as near as they could make out. Once 
Isaac shot a pigeon; at another time they found a 
turtle and killed it; sometimes they dug up roots 
and broke off the opening buds on the trees. They 
were glad to eat all these things and save them- 
selves from starving. 

They began to grow weak. Joseph cried because 
he was sick and hopeless. Still Isaac tried to en- 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


129 


courage his friend. He gathered nuts and brought 
fresh water. 

But poor Joseph could travel no farther, for his 
strength had given out, and he fainted. 

It would do no good for Isaac to stay with him, 
because both would die then. The brave boy must 
try for the last time to find a white settlement. 

He left his fainting friend and pushed on till a 
house came in sight. Oh, how happy he was! 
Back he hurried as fast as his poor bleeding feet 
would allow. He bathed Joseph’s head with fresh 
water, and managed to rouse him and tell the good 
news. 

Joseph could not walk even a short distance, so 
his companion took him on his back and tottered on 
through the woods. 

What a sight met the eyes of the settlers soon 
afterward. Two ragged, dirty boys, with bruised, 
cut feet and faces pale as death, — one of them car- 
rying the other, who was almost as large as him- 
self! And what a story they had to tell when food 
and loving care gave them strength to talk. Few 
grown people could have borne what they had suf- 
fered. Isaac Bradley was a hero indeed. 

‘‘I will never forget him as long as I live,’^ Joe 


130 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


declared when the story came to an end. 

“ Neither will I/’ said Lucy, I think that is 
a lovely story. I like it better than battles. I 
would rather hear of people being saved from death 
than of being killed.'' 

“ That is because you are a girl, Lucy," said her 
brother. Boys like to hear about war and fight- 
ing. But how did King William's War end, Uncle 
Sam?" 

It lasted about eight years. All that time the 
people who lived in lonely settlements were never 
safe. 

While some of the men ploughed and planted, 
others stood guard against an attack of the Indians. 
No one dared to sleep at night unless sentinels were 
watching outside; even in church the men sat gun 
in hand by the doors. They must be ready at a 
moment's notice to defend their wives and chil- 
dren. 

In the meanwhile, across the ocean, war was 
raging between France and England. At length 
peace was made, and there were no more battles 
either there or in America. King William's War 
was over. 

‘‘ Peace did not last long, however." Uncle 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


131 

Sam sighed. Soon there was another war between 
France and England. That was Queen Anne’s war. 
Of course, Frenchmen and Englishmen in this coun- 
try felt it their duty to fight, too. 

After that came a long period of quiet, and 
then King Georgels War. The brave men of New 
England did noble work. They took Louisburg, 
the strongest Erench fort in America. 

Even when peace was made, and the war came 
to an end, there was no real peace in the minds of 
the people. The Erench thought they had a right 
to land that was claimed by the English. The 
English felt that the French were wrong. 

“ How could the matter be settled ? There was 
no way but war. At least that is what both sides 
thought. 

“ But enough of the French and Indians for the 
present. Next time you shall hear about a very, 
very good boy who became a very, very great man.” 

What boy did Uncle Sam' mean, I wonder,” 
said Joe as he and Lucy were going home. 

I’m sure I can’t guess. May be it ^is' someone 
we never heard of. I’m willing to wait, though, 
till the time comes for the story,” replied his sister. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE BOY WHO COULD NOT LIE 


“W 


ELL, children, are you ready? 


Uncle Sam had been so busy in his gar- 
den in the daytime, and was so tired in the evenings 
afterwards, that he had told the children no stories 
for a whole week. 

It seems as if it were a month,” Joe declared. 

He and Lucy had been over to the cottage nearly 
every day after supper. But they stayed only long 
enough to tell Uncle Sam the village news and to 
sing a few songs while the old man lay on the 
lounge with his eyes closed. 

‘‘ The twins have voices like robins,” he thought 
at such times. What a blessing it is to have 
bright little friends like these. I ought to be happy 
indeed.” 

The time soon came when his work was easier, 
and he was quite ready to talk and tell stories. 

‘‘ Of course. Uncle Sam, we have only been wait- 
132 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


133 


ing for you.” Lucy sprang to his side with bright 
eyes. Ready! Of course she was ready. 

This is to be about a good little boy, as I prom- 
ised the other day. His name was George Wash- 
ington.” 

Oh ! ” said Joe in a tone of disappointment. 
He thought that he should have to hear over again 
the story of the hatchet that did such harm to a 
favorite cherry tree. He knew it from beginning 
to end. 

‘‘ Backwards and forwards, too,” he whispered 
to Lucy. “We know that George Washington 
never told a lie. Uncle Sam,” he said, turning 
towards the smiling face of his old friend. 

“ If you think that is all to be said of him, you 
are quite mistaken, Joe,” was the answer. “ George 
Washington was truly called the Father of his 
Country. If he hadn’t been truthful and loving as 
well as brave and wise, he might never have re- 
ceived the name.” 

Uncle Sam laughed. Then, leaning back in his 
armchair, he told the story of a great hero. 

Once upon a time a little baby was born in a 
farmhouse in Virginia. It was the twenty-second 
day of February, 1732, that this little child first 


134 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


opened his bine eyes and looked out on the great 
world around him. 

The house was not very large and had only four 
rooms on the ground floor ; at each end of the house 
was a big brick chimney. 

George’s father was a rich man and owned more 
than 5,000 acres of land. 

When the little boy was seven years old, his fa- 
ther said : We had better move to some land of 
mine on the Rappahannock River. I want to look 
after some iron mines there.” 

So the family went to live in their new home. 
The only school was kept by a man named Hobby, 
who was also the sexton of the church. He taught 
George a little reading and writing ; he also showed 
him how to work some simple sums in arithmetic. 

George had an older brother, Lawrence, of whom 
he was very fond. 

As Lawrence will be a great man some day, he 
must go to England and learn the ways of fine 
people,” his parents declared. 

When he came back to the simple life of Vir- 
ginia, he had many wonderful stories to tell of the 
city of London, the grand parties and processions, 
and other strange sights. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


135 


His young brother, who was very proud of Law- 
rence, listened eagerly to all he heard. 

Soon afterward Lawrence was made a captain 
and went to the West Indies to fight against the 
Spaniards. Then George was prouder of him than 
ever. How grand it must be to go to war, thought 
the boy. 

He was now tall and straight, and the leader of 
all his playmates. He formed the boys into a com- 
pany and drilled them for mock battles. They 
marched back and forth over an old field in which 
the school stood; they divided into two parts and 
planned attacks on each other; they had parades to 
entertain their friends. 

There were other sports also besides playing war. 
George was a swift runner; it was hard to beat him 
in a race or wrestling match. He was a strong 
swimmer and could fence well, too. 

He was much wiser than most boys of his age. 
His playmates sometimes quarreled. Then 'they 
would say : Let us ask George to settle the trou- 

ble for us ; he is so just that we can trust him.” 

When he was eleven years old, his father died, 
but his mother was quite able to bring up her son 
in the right way. She was loving and tender, but 


136 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


she was also just and firm. She made her son feel 
that one must be brave in little things as well as in 
great ones. He must love truth above everything 
else; he must treat his elders with respect; he must 
be thoughtful. 

Some of the little boy’s letters to his mother have 
been kept all these years. He always began them 
with some such form as “ Honoured Madam,” and 
closed with Your dutiful son.” 

Soon after George’s father died, he went away 
from his home on the Rappahannock. He must 
live where he could have better schooling. In his 
new home he learned a good deal that was useful to 
him afterward, but he never became a good speller. 

He wrote very neatly in his copybooks, many of 
which can be seen even now. Among other things 
to be found there are the rules for good behavior 
that Washington wished to remember. Here is one 
of them : “ When a man does all he can, though 

it succeeds not well, do not blame him.” And this 
is another : “ Speak not ill of the absent, for it is 

unjust.” A third one, which he must have printed 
very strongly in his mind, was : Undertake not 

what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep 
your promise.” 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


137 


George was a boy of high spirit and did not like 
to be dared. One day he was playing with his 
young friends when one of them said : “ I do not 
believe you would dare ride that colt.’^ It hap- 
pened that no one had yet managed to ride this par- 
ticular colt, and that he was also worth a large sum 
of money. 

“ Indeed I dare,” George replied. 

A few minutes afterward he was striding the back 
of the high-spirited creature. The horse reared and 
kicked and plunged, yet Washington kept his seat. 
Suddenly the horse fell to the ground dead. He had 
struggled so hard that he had burst a blood vessel. 
The boy had conquered, but the horse was lost. 

How bad my mother will feel,” George thought, 
but he did not question what he should do. He 
went to his mother at once. He told her that the 
horse was dead, and explained how it happened. 

She could not help being sorry, yet at the same 
time she was proud of her son because he was brave 
and truthful. 

Most healthy boys have a time when they long 
to go to sea. When George was fourteen he, too, 
had that wish. He went so far as to pack his 
clothes into a chest and send it down to the wharf ; 


138 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


but when his mother learned what he had done, she 
felt so bad that, at the last moment, he gave up the 
thought of going. The chest was sent home and 
the life of a sailor was put out of his mind. 

George was so fond of outdoor life that it is no 
wonder he liked the study of surveying, or marking 
off the bounds of land. At this time a great deal 
of the land in Virginia was still wild. 

One of the boy’s dearest friends was Lord Fair- 
fax, an old English gentleman. He spent a great 
deal of time with this friend. Sometimes he was 
listening to stories of life in England; at other 
times he rode with Lord Eairfax through the fields 
on a fox hunt. And again, he spent many a day 
surveying land. 

Lord Eairfax owned a great deal of the wild 
country beyond the mountains. When that gentle- 
man found how careful the boy was in his work, 
he thought : “ I believe I will ask my young friend 
to survey some of my wild land.” 

George, who was only sixteen years old at this 
time, was pleased at the offer. Only one other per- 
son, a cousin of Lord Eairfax, was to travel with 
him into the wilderness. 

The two young men started off through the forest 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


139 


on horseback. They carried guns, for they must 
get most of their food by shooting wild turkeys and 
other game. They would be gone from home about 
a month. 

They were not afraid of their lonely journey, of 
wild animals, or savage Indians. No doubt they 
said to each other: ‘‘We shall have great sport.’’ 

A part of the time they slept by a big fire in the 
open air; sometimes they camped out in the rough 
hut of a woodman. They scarcely tasted bread 
while they were gone. When they got hungry 
they built a fire, put a piece of meat on a forked 
stick, and toasted it over the flames. Chips of wood 
furnished the plates on which to eat the simple meal. 
It was a rough life, -but it made the young men 
strong and healthy. 

When George got home. Lord Fairfax was well 
pleased with what had been done. He paid the 
young man from seven to twenty-one dollars a day 
for all the time he was gone. That seems large 
pay, even to us. In those times everything was 
much cheaper than now; so, for then, it was very 
large pay indeed. 

For the next three years the young Washington 
spent his time in surveying. He lived much of 


140 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


the time in the wildest parts of the country, often 
among the Indians. He looked on at their feasts 
and dances, and learned their ways of thinking and 
living. 

“ George has been with the Indians so much that 
he even walks like them,” said his friends. 

The boy knew that his own quick temper was 
his worst enemy. His rough life was a good school 
for it taught him to be patient and to master 
himself. 

By the time he was nineteen, people began to talk 
about him. “ How brave young Washington is,” 
they would say. Or, How careful he is in all 
that he does.” 

The governor of Virginia now made him a major 
in the army. More and more did everyone think 
and speak well of the young man. 

He was only twenty-one years old when his 
brother Lawrence died. Lawrence trusted him so 
much that he made George guardian of his daugh- 
ter, who died not long afterward. Then the young 
Washington became the owner of the beautiful 
plantation of Mount Vernon. He was now a rich 
man. What a comfortable time he might have for 
the rest of his days. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


141 

But no ! He would be needed to help his country 
and save her from terrible danger. A life of peace 
and quiet was not for him. 

George had heard a great deal about the French 
people ; he knew that they held Canada and the land 
on both sides of the Mississippi. They were now 
building forts along the Ohio River. An English- 
man had only to cross over the Alleghany Moun- 
tains and he would be in the country claimed by 
France. 

Yet the English settlers did cross, and begin to 
make their homes on the other side of the moun- 
tains. The French people said : “ What right have 
those English to move into the country that belongs 
to us? La Salle sailed the whole length of the 
Mississippi, and that makes the land on both sides 
of it ours.” 

They went among the Indian tribes who lived 
along the Ohio and stirred them up against the 
English. Washington knew how his own people 
felt. They said : Cabot sailed along the whole 

eastern coast of North America; Sir Francis Drake 
was the first white man tO' visit the western shores. 
Therefore the whole country is ours.” 

Of course Washington believed the English peo- 


142 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


pie were right. He heard stories of the settlers 
over the mountains, and the dangers which fell to 
them. 

The governor of Virginia was troubled. He 
said : I must send a brave and wise man to warn 

the French that their forts are on English land.’’ 

Who should be the messenger? No other could 
be so well fitted for the task as Major Washington. 

George Washington was not the one to refuse a 
task because it meant danger, and was soon ready 
for the trip. Seven other men went with him. 
Two of them were Indians who knew the country 
and could guide the party over the mountains. 
Pack-horses were loaded with arms, clothing and 
provisions; the men rode on stout saddle-horses. 

The way was not hard at first, but they would 
cross rough mountains soon. They would have to 
ford swollen streams; they must pass through dark 
forests. At any moment unfriendly Indians might 
take them by surprise and scalp them. 

But the young major was as calm as if he were 
still on his beautiful plantation. He reached the 
Ohio valley in safety and called the Indians there 
to meet him in council. He talked with them for a 
long time and they promised to be his friends. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


143 


Their chief, Half King, and others of his tribe, 
promised to go with Washington to the French fort. 

This pleased him very much, and his heart was 
quite light when he set out once more. 

The first fort he came to was at Venango. When 
the Englishmen arrived, they were treated kindly. 
“ But I cannot receive the letter you bring,” the 
commander said to Washington. “ You must take 
it to the officer at Fort Le Boeuf. He has more 
power than I.” 

It could not be helped. The English party must 
travel for four more days through the dangerous 
country. Winter had set in, and a good deal of 
snow had fallen by the time the fort was reached. 

Here, also, Washington was treated very kindly. 
The commander received the letter he had brought, 
but made no promises ; he had no thought of giving 
up the country to the English. 

Now for the homeward trip. It would be harder 
and more dangerous than the one just ended. There 
had been heavy rains, and the rivers had overflowed 
their banks; the cold was now so great that cakes 
of ice formed in the waters. 

Some of the time the party traveled in canoes 
down the dangerous rivers; they were tossed about 


144 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


like toys in the rapid streams. It often seemed as 
if they would be dashed against the rocks and de- 
stroyed. Sometimes they had to leap out of the 
boats to save themselves from being struck by the 
blocks of ice. 

When the first part of the journey was over, the 
pack-horses were so worn out that they could not 
carry their loads any longer. Washington gave up 
his own saddle-horse at once and started to walk; 
a man named Gist kept him company. These two 
went ahead of the others. 

The way led through a forest and was very lone- 
ly. They soon met an Indian who offered to guide 
them on their journey. 

“ I will carry your gun for you,” the Indian said 
to Washington after a while. But the young major 
did not feel sure that the man meant well. He 
might be a friend of the French; he must be 
watched, for he had a gun of his own. 

It turned out just as Washington feared, — the 
Indian had been paid by the French to do all the 
harm he could. Suddenly there was the report of 
a gun. The Indian had fired on the white men. 
He had not aimed straight, however, and the bullets 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


145 


did not reach the mark. Before he could load his 
gun again, he was seized and bound. 

We must kill the fellow,” said Gist; but Wash- 
ington replied : “ No, we will set him free.” 

They gave the fellow a piece of meat and let 
him go. He had led them a roundabout way and 
they must make all the haste they could ; they knew 
they were in great danger and might be surprised at 
any moment. 

How could they tell which way to go? Washing- 
ton had a compass and this would guide them to the 
Alleghany River. They traveled night and day till 
they heard the roaring and rushing of the river they 
were seeking. The question rose at once, how were 
they to cross ? The heavy rains had made the water 
overflow the banks. Huge cakes of ice were knock- 
ing angrily against each other. 

There was neither bridge nor boat. A raft must 
be made; but this did not take them long. They 
tried to steer the raft across the tumbling water by 
the aid of long poles. They had reached the mid- 
dle of the stream when a block of ice struck the 
pole with which Washington was pushing; he lost 
his balance and fell over into the cold water. He 
managed to pull himself on board, but he was 


146 OLD COLONY DAYS 

drenched to the skin. The water in his clothes 
froze. 

Both he and Gist saw that they could not get the 
raft across the river because more and more ice was 
blocking the way. They were close to a little 
island. Jumping ashore, they looked around for a 
sheltered place to stay till morning. 

That night must have seemed one of the longest 
ones in their lives. They did not dare build a fire 
for fear the Indians would discover them, so it is 
a wonder they did not freeze to death. Morning 
came at last, and to their joy they saw that the 
river was frozen entirely over. They crossed to 
the other side as fast as their numb feet would 
carry them. In a short time they reached the log 
house of a trader. 

Here Washington bought a horse, and was soon 
on his way to tell Governor Dinwiddie about his 
journey. 

“ Time is up,” said Uncle Sam as he finished the 
story. The old clock in the corner said half-past 
seven. 

'' I must go out and see if the chickens are all 
right for the night. A new brood of thirteen 
hatched out this morning. Don’t you want to 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


147 


come out and see them ? ” 

‘‘ Indeed, yes,” exclaimed Joe. 

“ But, Uncle Sam,” said Lucy, will you tell us 
something more about Washington to-morrow? I 
think I even enjoy hearing about war when Wash- 
ington is in the story.” 

You cannot understand how this country is so 
great, nor why it is so great, Lucy,” replied Uncle 
Sam quite gravely, “ unless you know about the 
wars that have been fought for right and freedom. 
Then you will love America because you admire 
her and are proud of her. 

But come, children,” he added, if you want to 
see how happy newly-born chickens can be with a 
wooden mother.” 

Lucy and Joe laughed. They knew Uncle Sam 
meant the big brooder he had made a few days be- 
fore. 


CHAPTER XII 


JOIN OR DIE 


HE next evening, as Lucy had asked, Uncle 



X Sam was ready to go on with the story of 
Washington and his brave deeds. 

When the young major got back to the settle- 
ments after his daring trip, he was met with cheers 
and shouts. He was a hero indeed. 

He had a great deal to tell Governor Dinwiddle. 
He had looked over the country carefully, had 
found out how strong the French were, and had 
studied their forts. He had come in his travels to 
the place where two rivers joined together to make 
the Ohio. 

A fine place for a fort,’’ he had said. “ If we 
build one here, we can hold off the French.” 

He was careful to tell the governor about that 
place. He made such a clear picture, that Din- 
widdle said: “Yes, indeed, we must certainly 
build a fort there, without losing any time.” 

Forty men were sent at once over the mountains. 


148 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


149 


They were soon at work on the fort, but they had 
a surprise before it was half built. A body of 
French soldiers and Indians arrived. They had 
been ordered to drive off the workmen. 

It was of no use to fight, because the visitors were 
much greater in number than themselves. So they 
gave up their work and went back to Virginia. 

As they looked around, the Frenchmen said: 
“ The English certainly have chosen a fine place 
for a fort. We will finish it and keep soldiers here 
to defend it.’' 

Governor Dinwiddie was very angry when he 
heard of the different things the French had done. 
There must be war! Nothing but war could pay 
for the trouble they had made. 

The people of Virginia quite agreed with him, 
and voted to give fifty thousand dollars for the 
defense of the valley of the Ohio. 

While this was happening, Washington, with a 
body of brave soldiers, was already on his way to 
defend the settlers over the mountains. When he 
was in the midst of the wild country, word was 
brought that a party of Frenchmen were watching 
and following him. 

“ I will take them by surprise before they can 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


150 

do me any harm/’ thought Washington. 

He marched all the night and came upon the 
enemy before they had any idea he was near. He 
spread out his men so as to surround them. They 
could not get away. Many were killed or wounded ; 
all others, except one man, were made prisoners. 

This was Washington’s first real battle. He 
must have enjoyed it, for he wrote to a friend: 
“ I heard the bullets and, believe me, there is some- 
thing charming in the sound.” 

When the fight was over, Washington went back 
to a place called Great Meadows. Word now came 
that a large party of the French were marching that 
way. 

We must protect ourselves,” thought the brave 
young man. He gave the order to dig up the 
earth so as to make a rough sort of fort. He called 
it Fort Necessity, which was a good name for it. 

It was not long before the enemy arrived. There 
was a much larger number of Frenchmen than 
English, but Washington made a brave fight. After 
keeping it up for one day, he saw it was of no use. 
He said to the French : “ I am willing to leave this 
fort and go back to my people.” They let him 
do so. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


151 

The fifty thousand dollars given to the governor 
by the Colony of Virginia was not enough. And 
besides, there were not enough soldiers in Virginia 
to take the French forts and conquer their people. 
Some of the men in other colonies saw that Virginia 
must be helped. Then it was that Benjamin Frank- 
lin said : We must join or die.” 

Franklin was the editor of a paper in Philadel- 
phia at this time. One day a queer picture of a 
snake cut into pieces appeared in his paper. Under 
the picture were these words, Join or Die.” 

The people in those days believed that if a snake 
was cut into pieces it would still live if the parts 
were joined together at once. 

The country is in great danger,” thought the 
wise Franklin. ‘‘ I must point it out.” 

The picture and the words were noticed by many 
people. They were copied by other papers in dif- 
ferent parts of the country; it was not long before 
everyone was repeating, Join or die.” 

Up to this time each colony had been living and 
working for itself and there was no thought of 
joining together. But now they were all in danger. 
The French people on the other side of the moun- 
tains had built a chain of forts and were getting 


152 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


stronger every day. They held in their hands the 
most fertile parts of America. 

It is just as Franklin said. We must join or 
die/’ said one settler after another. The very 
thought of joining made each one feel more love 
for the other colonies. It was the beginning of the 
spirit that makes America so strong to-day. 

Yet the colonies would not make war unless the 
King of England thought best. But he did think 
best. He saw at once how dangerous the French 
were and that their forts must be taken. The Eng- 
lish could not stay shut up east of the mountains. 

I will at once send a strong army to help the 
colonists,” said the king. ‘‘ General Braddock shall 
be its commander.” 

The army was soon on its way to Virginia. 

These awkward fellows won’t be worth much 
in fighting,” thought the general when he saw the 
Virginia soldiers. His own men looked so straight 
and strong in their handsome red uniforms! He 
had not yet found out how brave the awkward 
colonists were, and how well they could fight. 

After Braddock arrived, a good deal of time was 
spent in getting provisions ready for the long march 
over the mountains. One part of the army under 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


153 


Braddock himself was to attack Fort Du Quesne; 
a large body of colonists was to go with him. 

Washington was made Braddock’s aid because 
he knew the country and its dangers. He also un- 
derstood the Indians and their ways of fighting. 
Braddock, however, did not like to take advice from 
the young major. He thought he knew more about 
war than Washington could tell him. But the coun- 
try was wild and strange, and he had never yet 
fought with Indians nor learned how to meet them. 

During the first part of the march, Braddock 
traveled in a coach. He wanted to have as much 
show as possible. But when there were no more 
roads and the army reached the rough mountain 
passes, he had to give up all thought of show. 

“ How frightened the savages will be when they 
see my army,’’ thought Braddock; Washington 
knew better. 

One day a party of men dressed like hunters 
came out to meet the English. “ Captain Jack,” 
whose family had been killed by the Indians, was 
their leader. Ever since this happened he had lived 
in the woods with his men. He was never so happy 
as when he took the Indians by surprise and did 
them harm. He was a great help to the settlers 


154 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


in that part of the country. 

Captain Jack said to Braddock : ‘‘ My men and . 
I will gladly help you. We will go ahead of your 
army and find out where the enemy are.” 

But Braddock thought he did not need such 
help. Washington again knew better; but he was 
only the general’s aid, so he could not help it when 
the kind offer was refused. 

The army was now drawing near Fort Du 
Quesne. 

Suddenly the woods were filled with horrible 
yells and bullets came flying from every direction. 
A body of French and Indians had come out from 
Fort Du Quesne. 

The British troops did not know how to meet 
such an attack. They stood in a solid body in 
plain sight while the Indians were hidden from 
view. Many of the soldiers dropped dead or 
wounded by the sharp fire of the enemy. 

But the colonists knew what to do. They fled 
here and there behind the rocks and trees. They 
were going to fight the Indians in Indian fashion. 

‘‘ I beg you to scatter your army in the same 
way,” Washington said to the general. But Brad- 
dock would not listen. Poor man ! he suffered 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


155 


bitterly for not doing as Washington advised. Be- 
fore the day was over, four horses were killed un- 
der him. 

At last he himself was struck and lay helpless 
on the ground. Even now he tried to command 
his army. When he saw that all hope was gone, he 
ordered the troops to turn back. 

Every moment he became weaker; he spoke only 
a few words ; he saw that he had only a short time 
to live. He had found out too late how much wiser 
Washington was than himself. He gave the order 
that the young major should have command of the 
troops after his own death. 

When he was near his end, he whispered : “ Who 
would have thought it! Who would have thought 
it I ” He was thinking of his own mistakes. 

Washington had been in the thickest part of the 
fight. Two horses were shot under him. His 
clothing was struck four times, but his life was 
saved for still greater work for his country. 

The army, that had seemed so strong and bright 
when it set out, slowly made its way to Philadel- 
phia. Many of its brave soldiers lay dead on the 
other side of the mountains. 

Washington was received by his people as a hero 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


156 

and was made commander of the troops to guard 
the western borders of Virginia. 

Three years afterward he went once more to at- 
tack Fort Du Quesne. This time the French were 
driven out and the fort was rebuilt. It was now 
called Fort Pitt, in honor of William Pitt, the 
greatest Englishman of that time. He was the true 
friend of the colonists. 

“ And now,” said Uncle Sam as the story came 
to an end, “ a great city stands on that very spot. 
It is called Pittsburg. Its factories and workshops 
are busy from morning till night, and the French- 
men who once defended the place are nearly for- 
gotten.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE STORY OF WOLFE 

44TT TOULD you like to hear about a hero ? ” 
VV asked Uncle Sam. 

Of course we would,” came a chorus of voices. 

Joe and Lucy’s two cousins had come to spend 
the day with them. Late in the afternoon, when 
they were all tired of play, Lucy had said : ‘‘ Let’s 
go over to Uncle Sam’s and ask him to tell us a 
story. Mother says we shall not have supper till 
seven o’clock.” 

All thought it a good plan, and so the four chil- 
dren had started at once for the cottage. They 
found Uncle Sam sitting in the porch ready for 
visitors. 

“ A hero indeed ! ” began the old man. ‘‘ And 
his name was James Wolfe. He was a little Eng- 
lish boy whose father was an officer in the army. 

^ I wonder if my child will ever live to grow 
up,’ his mother often thought, for he was weak and 
sickly. 


157 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


158 

“ Perhaps it was because of this that he was even 
dearer to her than most children are to their moth- 
ers. It must also have been because he was such a 
tender, thoughtful boy. At any rate, James and 
his mother had a very deep love for each other. 

“ The boy was not handsome. He had red hair, 
a nose that turned up, and a tall, thin body. But 
his eyes were so clear and bright that when people 
looked into them they forgot how homely the boy 
was. 

“ Although he was so sickly, James Wolfe longed 
to be a soldier and go to war. When he was six- 
teen years old he left England to fight for his coun- 
try in Flanders. He showed at once how brave he 
was. It seemed as if he could not understand the 
meaning of fear. He soon became a high officer 
in the army. 

“ After he came back to England he did not stay 
there long, for he was needed in America. The 
French and Indian War was being fought. He 
crossed the ocean and helped the colonists take 
Louisburg away from the French, to whom it had 
been given back after King George’s War. It was 
one of the enemy’s strongest forts. 

“ It was a hard fight and Wolfe was quite worn 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


159 


out. He went back to England to rest and get 
strong. 

“ He could not rest long, for he was needed in 
America again. Washington had at last taken Fort 
Du Quesne, but the English had failed to do many 
things they had hoped to do. 

' If we could only get Quebec into our hands! ’ 
thought the great statesman, William Pitt. ‘ Then 
we should no longer fear the French in America, 
for Quebec is the strongest place now held by 
them.^ 

“ Pitt looked around for a man wise enough and 
brave enough for such a work. It was full of dan- 
gers and difficulties. Who could do it so well as 
General James Wolfe? Who indeed! 

Soon afterward a fleet of English vessels with 
a large army aboard was making its way across the 
Atlantic. Wolfe was the commander. 

It was near the end of June when the fleet en- 
tered the St. Lawrence. It moved slowly and care- 
fully. Again and again the captains studied the 
waters below, for they did not want to strike any 
hidden rocks. Not once did they make a mistake 
in guiding the ships. 

The great fortress and city came in sight. It 


i6o 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


stood on a high cliff reaching out into the St. Law- 
rence. How strong seemed those walls of rock! 
Surely no army could make its way up the sides of 
the cliff. So thought the Indians who had always 
lived in the country; so thought the Frenchmen who 
now defended the stronghold on its summit. 

“ On the other side *of the point the land sloped 
down into low marshes and sand-bars, which were 
guarded by the French soldiers, in case of an attack 
from that direction. 

“Montcalm, their commander, thought: Hf we 
have enough food, my soldiers can easily hold the 
fort till the winter season. It does not matter how 
many of the English try to attack us. Then, when 
the cold days come and the water freezes in the 
river, the enemy will have to go away in their ships. 
Yes, we are quite safe.’ 

“ In the meantime he sent fire-ships to the place 
where the English were anchored. These fire-ships 
were loaded with wood and tar and other things 
that would make a quick, hot fire. 

“ ‘ If only we can set fire to the ships of the 
enemy ! ’ thought the French. 

“ But they did not succeed. The English went 
out to meet them in small boats and towed them 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


i6i 


away from their own ships before any harm was 
done. 

Wolfe was thinking busily all the time. How 
was he to take that stronghold? 

“ He managed to land his army on the opposite 
shore without being driven away by the French. 
Cannons were set up and the siege began. Much 
harm was done to the city of Quebec by the big 
guns. Houses were burned and churches were de- 
stroyed ; the people in the city were in great danger, 
but the fort on the rocky cliff did not suffer. 

“ Day after day passed by. Boom ! boom ! thun- 
dered the great cannons on both sides. Heavy rains 
fell, and the men were wet to the skin. Afterward 
the blazing sun shone out, and the heat was as hard 
to bear as the storm had been. 

Many of the English soldiers became sick. 
Wolfe himself was burning with fever. As he 
tossed on his bed in pain, he thought of the great 
cliff .of rock and the large army of the French, — 
much larger than his own. He felt sure he could 
not live long, but he must not die before he suc- 
ceeded in his undertaking. 

He turned to his physician and begged him to 
give some medicine that would stop the pain. Just 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


162 

for a few days! That was all he asked. If the 
pain left him he could do his duty. 

“ He got the help he needed and was once more 
among his men. A look into his clear blue eyes 
gave them new courage. 

One day as he was looking through a telescope 
at the fortress on the other side of the river, he 
noticed for the first time something that filled him 
with hope. It was a steep and narrow footpath 
winding in and out, yet upwards to the very top of 
the cliff. 

‘ We can yet win,’ he thought. ‘ My brave 
soldiers shall yet make their way up that path.’ 

“ Then and there he made a bold and daring 
plan by which Quebec should be won I 

“ About this time he heard good news, — pro- 
visions were coming in boats by night to the 
Frenchmen. They passed close beneath the cliff. 

‘ I have it,’ thought the brave general. ‘ When 
my own boats filled with soldiers draw near, the 
sentinels will think they are bringing supplies to the 
French troops, so they will not give the alarm. 
Besides this, I will make the French think I am 
going to attack them by the mud flats on the other 
side.’ 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


163 

“ He sent a body of soldiers there. Montcalm 
watched them, thinking : ‘ They are trying to find 
out all they can about the place. They are certainly 
planning an attack on that side of the city.’ He 
was still watching when the sun set, and the Eng- 
lish soldiers could still be seen on the mud flats. 

“ Night set in. There was no moon, but the sky 
was bright with stars. Wolfe had got up from 
his sick bed to lead his army in the real attack. 
Thirty boats filled with soldiers were soon moving 
softly down the river. 

As he floated along, Wolfe recited in low tones 
Gray’s most beautiful poem, then recently printed. 
As he repeated the line: 

‘ The paths of glory lead but to the grave,’ 

he said : ‘ I would rather have written those lines 
than take Quebec to-morrow.’ 

“ Nearer and nearer to the cliff came the boats. 
Hark ! There is a cry from a sentinel. ‘ Who 
goes there ? ’ 

“ ' The French,’ was the bold answer. 

“ ^ What company ? ’ 

. ‘ The Queen’s.’ 

He was satisfied, for he thought the men were 


164 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


bringing the looked-for provisions. 

Soon another sentry heard the boats. 

“ ‘ Who goes there? ’ he cried. 

“ ‘ Hush ! ’ came the answer in a whisper. ^ It 
is the provisions.’ 

“ And now the landing place was reached. Wolfe 
was one of the first to step on shore. One by one 
the soldiers made their way up the steep and nar- 
row path. It was hard work. Not even the sound 
of a falling pebble must be heard. The men had 
to take hold of bushes and roots to keep from fall- 
ing. Hard as it was to find a foothold, they also 
had to carry their supplies. 

‘‘ At the head of the pass there was a guard- 
house; the officer who had charge of it was in bed 
and asleep. It was easy enough to seize the few 
men who were on duty. 

On came the brave Englishmen, pushing and 
crowding each other, all eager to reach the top. 

When the sun rose the next morning, it showed 
a strong army drawn up for battle on the Plains of 
Abraham, just behind the fort. And all the time 
more troops were landing and making their way 
up the steep cliff. 

When Montcalm heard the news, he was greatly 



THE ENGLISH CLIMBING UP TO ATTACK QUEBEC 







OLD COLONY DAYS 


165 


excited. The English army on the Plains of Abra- 
ham ! It seemed impossible. All through the long 
night he had not slept; he was expecting an attack 
from the mud flats, and was waiting for the day 
to break. 

“ He gave the order to his troops to march with 
all haste against the English. 

Wolfe was waiting for him. And as our hero 
waited, he went from company to company, urging 
his men to be brave in the coming battle. The 
watchword of the English was ‘ Victory or Death ! ’ 

The Erench army came upon the run. Bands 
of Indians, flerce in their war-paint and filling the 
air with their horrid yells, were with them. ^ De- 
stroy the English and save Quebec,’ was the one 
thought of all. 

‘ Do not fire until the enemy are close upon 
us,’ was the order of Wolfe. 

On came the French. They were met with 
one volley, then another, then another. It was a 
fearful battle; the ground was soon covered with 
the dead and the dying of both sides. 

“ The English pressed on. Wolfe led his men 
in the charge. A bullet struck his wrist and broke 
it, but he stopped only to wrap his handkerchief 


i66 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


about it. He was wounded a second time ; yet still, 
brave as ever, he urged on his soldiers. A third 
bullet hit him in the breast. He could go no far- 
ther and fell fainting to the earth. 

Four of his men lifted him tenderly and car- 
ried him from the field. ‘ We will call a surgeon,’ 
they said. 

“ He answered : ‘ There’s no need. It’s all over 
with me.’ 

After that he lay very still, and his men thought 
he had fainted. 

In the meantime the battle raged on and the 
English pressed closer and closer upon the French. 

An officer who stood near the dying hero cried 
out : ‘ They run ; see how they run ! ’ 

“ ^ Who run? ’ asked Wolfe, rousing. 

‘ The enemy, sir. They give way everywhere.’ 

' Now God be praised ! I will die in peace.’ 
These were the last words of one of the bravest 
men that ever lived.” 

“ Oh, how sad it was that he couldn’t live ! ” 
sighed Lucy. 

You had better say: ‘How grand it was that 
he died a hero,’ ” exclaimed Joe. 

The boy’s cheeks were burning with excitement. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


167 


When I grow up, Uncle Sam, I want to go to 
Quebec and climb up the very same path that Wolfe 
climbed that glorious night.” 

I’ll go with you,” cried one of his cousins. 

But I haven’t finished my story,” Uncle Sam 
went on. '' You must hear about Montcalm, who 
was a brave man, too. He, as well as Wolfe, met 
death nobly on the Plains of Abraham. He was 
shot through the body early in the battle. 

“ As his men were carrying him to the hospital, 
he said: 'It’s nothing; it’s nothing. Don’t be 
troubled about me, my good friends.’ 

You cannot live,’ they told him as gently as 
they could. 

" ' I’m glad of it,’ he replied. 

"Later on they said: 'You cannot last twelve 
hours.’ 

" ' So much the better. I am happy that I shall 
not live to see the surrender of Quebec,’ came the 
answer. 

" He had lost all hope for his people. In his 
last moments he praised the English for their brave 
work, and asked that he be buried with the honors 
belonging to a soldier. 

" Quebec was now in the hands of the English. 


i68 


OLD COLONY DAYS- 


“ The power of New France was at an end. A 
great question was settled ; it was the question 
whether the French or the English should rule in 
America. 

“From the day when Wolfe scaled the rocky 
cliff at Quebec, the words of Benjamin Franklin 
were felt in the hearts of the colonists as they had 
never been felt before. 

“ ^ Join or Die.’ 

“ A new people had begun to breathe. From 
north to south they thought and worked and lived 
together.” 

“ Oh, how good the air feels ! ” cried Lucy. The 
children had bidden Uncle Sam good-night and 
were on their way home to supper. 

“ That is because it is the air of America,” said 
Joe proudly. “ It is the air for heroes. When I 
grow up I hope there will be more war. I want to 
have a chance to fight.” 

“ Don’t forget what Uncle Sam said as we bade 
him good-night,” replied Lucy : “ ' I hope there 

will come a time when people will stop going to 
war to settle their quarrels. But there will be 
plenty of chance for heroes, even then.’ Those 
were his very words, Joe, Fm quite sure.” 


CHAPTER XIV 


PONTIAC, THE GREAT WAR CHIEF 


44 N Indian this time,” said Uncle Sam. 



jr\ “ Good ! ” declared Joe, but Lucy shud- 
dered. 

He gave our people so much trouble, you must 
certainly hear about him,” Uncle Sam went on. 

And, Lucy, dear, he was once a helpless little baby 
who laughed and crowed as sweetly as any baby you 
ever knew.” 

Lucy was interested at once. 

Then please tell us about him,” she said, as she 
nestled close to the old man’s side and listened to 
the story of Pontiac, the great chief and warrior. 

There was once a little Indian boy with beady, 
black eyes, and straight black hair. He lived near 
the shores of one of the Great Lakes. Forests grew 
all about him. 

The child learned to hunt the wild creatures of 
the woods with his tiny bow and arrows. He swam 
in the clear blue water of the river or paddled about 


169 


170 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


in his little canoe. Each day was full of joy and 
happiness. 

As he grew older, he began to think about war. 
His father was a great warrior. He, too, wished to 
be a great war chief when he grew up ; but he must 
first prove himself very brave and show how much 
pain he could bear. 

He left his home and went away into the forest. 
There he stayed alone for days and nights without 
food ; he also joined war parties against other tribes ; 
he came home with the scalps of his enemies hang- 
ing from his belt. He was fast showing that he 
was a true “ brave ” like his father. 

He heard a great deal about the “ pale- faces,” as 
his people called the white men. There were two 
sorts of these pale-faces. One was the French, 
who were always kind to the Indians and gave 
them many presents. They paid a good price for 
the furs that the hunters had to sell; their priests 
were loving and gentle. As Pontiac grew up, he 
saw more and more of the Frenchmen and liked 
them well. 

The other pale-faces were the English, who were 
quite different from the French. They were stern 
and cold in their ways and spoke few words to the 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


171 

Indians. The proud young Pontiac hated these 
white men and wished his people were strong enough 
to drive them out of the country. 

Time passed by. Pontiac became the chief of 
his tribe. More than this, however ! Other tribes 
around feared and admired him so much that they, 
too, chose him to be war chief over them all. 

By this time, the French and Indian War had 
begun. Pontiac went with a band of his warriors 
to help the French when they defeated Braddock 
at Fort Du Quesne. He was the friend of the 
French all through the war. 

Then came the battle of Quebec, in which the 
French were beaten. In those days there were no 
telegraphs to send news from one place to another, 
and but few postoffices. 

There were several forts near Pontiac’s home 
that were still held by the French. The men who 
held these forts did not even know that the war 
was over and that the English now had a right to 
that part of the country. Neither did the Indians 
round about them know what had happened. 

The English said : We must send a brave man 

into the west to carry the news of our victory and 
to receive the forts there from the French.” 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


lyz 

They chose Major Robert Rogers to lead a com- 
pany of two hundred men. Rogers did not have 
an easy task before him; he did not have much to 
fear from the French, but no one knew what trouble 
the Indians might make. 

The company sailed along the Great Lakes until 
they came to the western part of Lake Erie. A ter- 
rible storm arose and the rain fell in torrents. 

“ We had better land,” Rogers told his men. 
“ We will camp out in the forest till the storm is 
over.” 

Soon after they had settled themselves in their 
rough camp a band of Indians arrived. They said : 
“ Pontiac, our great chief, is not far away. He 
wishes to know how you dare to enter his country 
without first asking him for the right to do so.” 

Not long afterward Pontiac himself appeared, 
grand in paint and feathers. He looked very fierce 
and stern as he said ; “ I am Pontiac, chief of the 

Ottawas. Why are you here? You are our ene- 
mies. You are also the enemies of the Frenchmen, 
who are our friends and brothers.” 

Then Major Rogers told him the news about the 
war. The French had laid down their guns and 
promised to give up their forts. The English king 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


173 


was very powerful, but he would have mercy on 
the Indians if they would take the peace belt and 
fight no more. 

Pontiac would make no answer at once, for he 
must think over what he had heard. He turned 
away with these words : Englishmen, I shall 

stand in your path till morning.” 

Then he and his men went away into the rain and 
darkness. The next morning he appeared again, 
saying that he was willing to make peace with the 
English, for he was thinking : These white men 

must be very strong if they could beat the Erench. 
It is of no use to stand against them.” 

He told Rogers that he would give him no* trou- 
ble. He would even help that officer and his com- 
pany on their journey. 

Soon afterward Rogers and his men took the 
forts into their own hands, and the Erench went 
away. 

But the English were not as pleasant neighbors 
as the Indians had expected. They did not make 
presents nor invite the red men to their feasts. 
They did not give the Indians food in winter when 
the ice and snow covered the ground and the hunt- 


174 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


ers failed to get enough game for their hungry 
families. 

It was now that Pontiac thought of a plan to 
drive the white men out of the country, for he hated 
them with all his heart. He, alone, could do little 
to harm them, but if he could win other tribes to 
join with his own, he could do so much. So much, 
indeed ! 

Yes, the proud chief could do a great deal, but 
not what he hoped. For he little knew, as yet, how 
strong the English were. 

He sent messengers with belts of wampum from 
one tribe to another; he held councils in the dark- 
ness of the forests; he stirred the hearts of his 
listeners by his words; he showed them how the 
forts could all be taken at the same time. The plan 
must be kept so secret that the English would get 
no hint of it. 

The Indian chief had used all his cunning in 
making his plan. He himself would seize the fort 
at Detroit. 

But first he went there with a band of his war- 
riors, pretending that he was very friendly. He said 
to the officer in charge : “ Let us dance the peace 

dance for you.’^ 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


175 


The soldiers of the fort were quite pleased. 
They were glad that the great war chief, Pontiac, 
wished to show himself their friend, and were quite 
willing to have him dance the peace dance. 

Little did they know what was in his heart when 
they let him enter. They did not even notice that 
while the dance was going on, some of the Indians 
were walking about the fort and learning all they 
could about it. The next time they came, they 
meant to take it into their own hands and destroy 
the white men. 

A few days after that, a number of young war- 
riors came into the town. They gathered on the 
green near the fort to play ball. At the same time 
a good many squaws appeared in the streets, selling 
baskets. Under their shawls, however, guns and 
tomahawks were hidden. 

Then Pontiac and sixty of his best warriors 
marched through the town and up to the fort. The 
great chief asked that he and his men might enter, 
as they wished to have a council with the English 
chief. 

The gates were opened at once, but, much to 
Pontiac's surprise, the soldiers within were fully 
armed and stood in long lines. Had his plan been 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


176 

learned by the white men ? How was it possible ? 

Neither he nor his men gave a look or a sign that 
showed they knew something was wrong. They 
took their places at the council, although they saw 
that the officers around them had their swords and 
pistols. 

Then Pontiac arose. He looked very stern as 
he asked why the white men met him with arms. 
The commander answered: “We are having our 
drill as usual.” 

The chief seemed satisfied, and began the speech 
he had planned to make. When he reached a cer- 
tain word, he took the peace belt in his hand as if 
he were going to turn it over. His warriors were 
watching. It was the sign for them to spring upon 
the officers and seize the fort. 

Alas for Pontiac’s plan! It had been discovered 
by the white men, and they, too, were watching for 
the sign. 

The drum beat and the arms of the soldiers 
sounded through the fort. Pontiac understood at 
once and he saw that his chance was lost. He was 
quick to make promises of friendship, however, so 
he was allowed to go in peace. 

This was only one of the plans by which the great 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


177 


war chief of the west tried to gain the forts of the 
English. Sometimes he failed as he did at Detroit; 
sometimes he succeeded, and brought death and 
suffering to many of the English. His very name 
was enough to make cheeks turn pale and teeth 
chatter with fright. 

Whether he gained or lost, he had hope of driv- 
ing out the English, for the Erench people in Can- 
ada had told him : “ Be patient, Pontiac, the King 
of Erance will soon send an army to help you.’’ 
They were only deceiving him, but he believed what 
they told him and fought on. 

At last the Indians heard that two large English 
armies were marching into the western country. 
Messengers were sent by the English with the same 
word to all the tribes. The red men were fright- 
ened. Even the stern and fearful Pontiac could 
hold them no longer. Each tribe in turn made 
peace with the English and promised to bury the 
hatchet forever. This was the Indian way of say- 
ing : I will fight no more.’’ 

The terrible war was at an end and the settlers 
were happy once more. Pontiac was beaten. He 
went to his old home and settled there with his 
wives and children around him. He hunted in the 


178 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


forests and took part in the feasts of his people. 
But he had not changed toward the English settlers. 
He hated them as much as ever, while he still called 
himself the brother of the French. 

From time to time troubles came up between the 
settlers and the Indians. Then the white people 
would say : “ I am sure Pontiac is to blame for 

this. He is trying to turn the red men against us. 
We shall never be safe so long as that wicked chief 
is alive.’' 

Years had passed by when one day Pontiac said 
to his friends : “ I am going on a journey. I shall 
go down to St. Louis on the Mississippi River. I 
wish to visit some of my French friends who are 
living there.” 

He made his visit and was treated very kindly. 
Then he left his white friends and went to a gather- 
ing of Indians across the river. That very night, 
as he was walking alone through the woods, he was 
killed by the tomahawk of another Indian. 

The English settlers need no longer fear the fierce 
chief who had once been so strong and mighty. 

“ Uncle Sam, do you think it was right to kill 
Pontiac in that way ? ” asked Lucy, as the story 
came to an end. 


OLD COLONY DAYS 


179 


No, my dear. Neither do I think that our peo- 
ple always treated the Indians justly. They looked 
upon the red men as cruel savages, as indeed they 
were. Yet, if the settlers had been patient with 
them, they might have helped the Indians, and saved 
themselves from great suffering. 

No one is perfect, however. As we cannot 
help what happened, we need not spend our time 
in blaming the people for their mistakes. Instead 
of that, we ought to think of the many grand and 
noble deeds that were done in the good old colony 
times. They should make us wiser, better, and 
more unselfish toward everyone in the world. They 
should fill our hearts with the deepest and truest 
love for our country.’’ 



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THE LITTLE QUEEN 

By Eva Madden 

240 pp. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.00 


About the little seven-year-old French wife of Richard II. 
the writer has woven one of the sweetest and happiest stories 
of its kind, presented in a peculiarly pleasing and interesting 
style . — Boston Herald, 

This is a very entertaining story, with a web of English and 
French history so carefully woven with a fictional background 
that the history is indelibly impressed on our minds before 
we are conscious that we have learned it . — Daily News. 

A winsome and royal child is the “ Little Queen” whose 
history is told in this story, embroidered, like some rich arras, 
with courtiers, and fair ladies, and pageants, and knights, and 
knightly deeds. Nor is the tale too long, but told with an 
art which never suffers it to become tedious, nor allows the 
interest to wane . — Milwaukee Free Press.'"’ 

This story is the brief, sad life of the child- wife of Richard II. 
of England and will do much toward awakening interest in and 
impressing on the minds of young people the troublous times 
in which this little French maid’s lot was cast, and in which 
she so faithfully and fearlessly took her part— Record. 

Miss Madden tells the pathetic story of this little French 
princess most charmingly, and, while she does not confine 
herself exclusively to history, historical facts form the foun- 
dation on which the attractive story is built. It is thoroughly 
interesting, and will please little people, as well as boys and 
girls of older years. — Herald. 



S}) MARY HAZELTON WADE 

Uncle Sam’s 01d=Time Stories 


This series of books is intended to cover in story form the 
early history of our country. The stories are particularly 
adapted for the youngest grades, and are so arranged as to 
be fitted for supplementary reading in schools. Mrs. Wade 
has connected the several stories in such a way as to make 
the volume complete ; but they can be separated without 
affecting the interest. Parents or teachers will find in these 
volumes bright, interesting and instructive tales which can 
be fitted to any purpose. 

THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN ; Or, 
How Our Country was Discovered. 

First volume of series. 1 83 pp. 

The reader or listener to the stories of Uncle Sam 
will at once be interested in the beginnings of our 
American history, and they will arouse a spirit of 
patriotism in them. 

The story-teller is an ardent lover of his country, and 
he is never so happy as when picturing the heroes of 
long ago. 

The stories are simple and vividly told. 

OLD COLONY DAYS. 

Stories of the First Settlers and How Our Country Grew. 

190 pp. 

After the discovery of our country came the work of 
its first settlers, and it is this subject which is covered 
in this second volume of the series. What foes they 
had to contend with and how they often suffered from 
cold, hunger and sickness is clearly brought out, and 
the spirit of perseverance which they displayed will be 
an inspiration to better and truer lives. 

Other volumes in preparation. 

Bach volume fully illustrated. Price^ 75 cents each. 


W. A. WILDE COMPANY 

Boston and Chicago 



Ten Little Indians 

AND 

Ten Big Indians 

EACH VOLUME IS FULLY ILLUSTRATED BY 
TEN FULL PAGE PICTURES AND CON- 
TAINS ABOUT 250 PAGES 

Pi'ice^ $1.00 each 


These companion volumes are made up of stories for 
children and are adapted for readers of the fourth and 
fifth grades. They are used not only in the home and 
public library but are also found in the schoolroom, for 
they give their readers not only valuable and interesting 
information, but also make the Indian real and human. 

The author has striven to show in these stories the 
lives of some of the most important Indians, both when 
they were children and after they had grown up and 
become the heads of their tribes. 

The characters selected are representative of ten of 
the most important tribes which have contributed to the 
history of our country, and in their individual ways these 
characters are representative of the different qualities of 
the red men, as well as of the different periods of 
American History. 

Much of the history of these people which is worth 
remembering is fast passing into the realm of myth, or is 
already lost to the world. 










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